This Thursday, BET is taking on the subject we’ve all been talking, thinking, and writing about for a while. In a half hour special, Fashion Blackout, they’ll bring together pretty much everyone you’d think (including Naomi, Andre Leon Talley, Constance White, and Tracy Reese) to sound off on the topic of Black presence, or lack thereof, in fashion.

Not to get too heavy, but as a Black woman working in fashion (or trying to), it’s really disheartening to see “No Ethnic Girls” on calls for models, or many other forms of blatant discrimination in the industry I love so dearly. I agree wholeheartedly with BET when they say it’s “one of fashion’s biggest faux-pas.”

It’s great to see this topic coming into the spotlight in a big way, so here’s to more open discussion on the topic - preferably longer than 30 minutes - plus, we need more time to hear Chanel speak (and we’re crossing our fingers that she does in fact speak).

If you’re bored or just curious, you can also take the Fashion Blackout quiz or just wait and watch the special when it airs this Thursday at 8:30pm.

— JAZZI McGILBERT

Margherita and Theresa Missoni already get to inherit a fashion label and a series of very cool print plates.

Now they’ll also get some hotels.

Reports are surfacing that the chain of Missoni hotels that have been in the works are finally ready to open across the world.

The properties come after a series of rumors that the brand would pair with the Ritz Carlton (they eventually went with Rezidor, a Belgian hotel group) to make some boutique hotels - maybe even with Missoni boutiques inside of them.

The first two open in Kuwait and Edinburgh, Scotland, and since Faran lived there for a year, she sincerely hopes Missoni makes a kilt for the occasion.

Earlier this week, we got some sort of invitation from G-Star - apparently, they’d be working with Dennis Hopper on an upcoming bash.

Then Tod’s sent us an email, saying that Gwyneth Paltrow had been directed by Dennis Hopper in new commercials for the brand.

And we’re like, why?

So here’s the possible fashion connections to actor Dennis Hopper:

1. Warhol made a print of him in the ’70s.
2. He was friends with James Dean.
3. His third wife (of five wives) was named Daria.

Aside from that, we’re totally lost, but as usual, we’ll watch anything with Gwyneth Paltrow in it - even a handbag commercial.

California may be home to Hollywood and Hugh Hefner, but Miami is getting a one-up in the form of a secret:

Victoria’s Secret, that is.

Today, the company announced its December fashion show won’t take place in Los Angeles, but instead in Miami, Florida.

The move comes on the heels of many VS changes, most notably in their models: Gisele is out and Miranda, Behati, and Trentini are in.

Maybe the high fashion profile that comes from using those runway girls is also what motivated the move down South -

Before VS got to Ocean Drive, it was taken over by Karl for Chanel’s most recent resort show!

Reader Emily sent in this latest design double-take, and we can’t get over how close the copy is.

The original wrap dress is navy blue and by Diane von Furstenberg. The copy is Pepto pink and by Calvin Klein.

Other than some minute changes here and there (length of the bow, shirring at the sleeve hems, size of neck ruffles) the “inspiration” is way too direct to call coincidence. The real kicker? The copy’s even called the “Wrap Front Dress”.

Calvin’s selling his for $128, which definitely puts it in the general price point of a DVF wrap dress - we would tell you the price of this particular one by Diane, but it’s already sold out on Nordstrom.

Glad some people know the difference.

Move over, Doutzen and Coco - there’s a new set of girl-crushes from Vogue and they only look like models.

They’re the current crop of Vogue assistants and (gasp) even a few interns, who will all be posing for a fall fashion story on “office chic.”

Of course, it’s no secret that to work at Vogue, you have to dress like a model anyway, so this probably isn’t a stretch for the various women involved.

Stay tuned for the story; it should be fun (though perhaps not as much fun as last year, when Lauren Santo Domingo styled a piece called “Dressing Like a Teenager” that somehow shoved every cutie from Chapin and Spence into the back of one truck for a photo…)

For those of you who missed out on the amazing Net-a-Porter sale this past week because you still can’t bring yourself to order Chloe shoes online, here’s a real-life sale to get you in on the fun:

Ksubi, maker of Ashley Olsen’s jeans, is having a sample sale in LA all day tomorrow and Friday.

Stop by 860 S. Los Angeles Street (the Cooper Building), #529, from 9am - 5pm.

Expect “great stuff from past seasons,” drinks and a DJ.

Who doesn’t love a good mix of party and shopping?

WHICH model ran into a little trouble with the law recently? It seems she was using a neighbor’s dumpster as her own trash can so often he finally called the cops on her…

When news got out that the new Project Runway would be leaving Bravo for Lifetime, the general reaction was, “Lifetime? You mean the channel that plays The Golden Girls?” [Full disclosure: I’m a huge GG fan, that’s Golden, not Gossip, and I maintain Blanche Devereux was the original Samantha.]

And it looks like Lifetime made have heard us loud and clear. Former intern Brett wrote in to let us know that Lifetime’s changed its logo - and it kind of looks a bit like Interview’s.

We love it whenever there are cuter outfits involved.

There have been some rumblings of the Proenza boys starting an accessories mecca ever since last July when they sold 45% of their company to Valentino, but now it’s official.

According to WWD, Proenza’s signed a licensing deal with Italian shoe god, Giuseppe Zanotti.

It’s an odd pairing - Proenza, maker of bustier-tanks (and kind of clunky shoes, really); Giuseppe Zanotti, maker of these, but we trust this is more of a “can we use your factory?” situation rather than a joint-design effort.

There are already some styles for Resort in the works, but the line officially kicks off with Spring ‘09, which means we’ll work extra hard to get full-length pictures for you guys at their show in September.

See you in the pit!