“But just as royalty now has less attention than celebrity, so couture has lost its unique prestige, with the word bandied about by any high-end designer. And whereas fragrances produced from the mystique of haute couture once kept the houses afloat, now it is just as likely that a hip jeans brand like Diesel or a celebrity like Jennifer Lopez will have the perfume hit that has stubbornly eluded Lacroix.” Suzy Menkes, on the devastating news that Christian Lacroix has filed for bankruptcy protection

Earlier this week, we quietly broke the news that Jennifer Lopez was set to be the guest judge on the final episode of Project Runway, which seemed random at the time, but after seeing her at Marc, DVF, and pretty much all over the place, now makes sense.

But now we have to sort of unbreak it, because it looks like JLo had to pull out due to a foot injury (guess she’s not used to going to so many shows in big shoes), and so Tim Gunn got to step in her place.

And there you have it. His opinions finally have some merit on the show.

The DVF show was as pretty as always, except we couldn’t really enjoy the clothes after everything that happened before the show.

You see, JLo showed up, and it pretty much brought down the house. Paparazzi flooded the runway to the point that front-row editors were piping up about the presence of way too many actresses in their midst, and PR girls started kicking photographers out, leading to the smarter ones usurping untaken seats in the back, so they could shoot JLo, Uma, Eva Longoria, Leighton Meester, etc with their zoom lenses in peace.

In fact, there were so many celebrities front row and center, that we spied some Vogue editors sitting second and third row, and Steve Sands was literally grabbed by the shoulder and pushed to the ground by security right at Uma’s feet.

Also spotted: Whitney Port working backstage, and Olivia Palermo working, headset and all, on the floor, apparently as part of a Hills scene.

In short, it was a total show - but you know you love it.

—PHOTOGRAPHY BY REBECCA SUHRAWARDI AUSTIN

This just in from out and about:

The guest judge for the final Project Runway this season has been leaked (to us, anyway) and it’s none other than Jennifer Lopez.

It’s a little comical considering that her own foray into fashion design sort of fizzled and died, but we guess what works for TV doesn’t exactly work on the runway.

Maybe she’ll wear Versace again?

Or maybe we’ll want to throw ourselves onto Sixth Avenue when her entourage / car cavalcade / fanfare clogs the Tent entrance Friday morning.

What I learned at the Met Ball last night:

- Zac Posen is my fashion superhero. Please see his combined superman costume with Kate Mara.

- Models only hang out with models. I felt like a kid in a candy store watching Coco, Anja, Hilary, Chanel, Stam, Lily D., and Doutzen cluster for 15 minutes…although literally no one else cared. Apparently George Clooney’s a bigger deal.

- Michelle Trachtenberg is one of the models. She jumped into Stam’s arms and kiss/kissed everyone else, (while also, interestingly enough, avoiding every single Gossip Girl cast member on the red carpet).

- Philip Lim and Chanel Iman are the perfect couple - and probably the only two people who look amazing in that faded mustard color.

- The Voguettes did not have to wear shades of white. I spotted mint green, gold, purple, and navy - which was on Meredith Melling-Burke who also wore Natalie’s beloved YSL star necklace.

- When I asked Christopher Bailey which superhero he was channelling, he said, “Christopher Bailey!” and giggled.

- Donatella Versace wears a wig.

- Penn Badgley wears red and blue cufflinks - his personal homage to Spiderman - while waiting for Blake Lively to pose for pictures. Apparently, the waiting has become a nightly routine.

- When Pacey stands next to Chuck, Nate and Dan, I long for the teen dramas of my adolescence - even if the clothes are better now.

Remember when Christina Aguilera sent a million baby presents to Britney Spears when Sean Preston was born?

Now we’ve got one better:

Sean Combs released a public statement today, saying that Jennifer Lopez’s new twins were getting their first birthday present from him -

And it’s Sean John baby clothing.

Besides being a brilliant way to keep his clothing enterprise in the public eye, this move is also sort of sweet - after all, Sean and Jen had a famous relationship a few years ago, and now he can remind her about it every time her kids need a clean onesie.

If only Ben Affleck made teeny little Red Sox sweatshirts!