It’s rare a week goes by that we don’t dream of living in London, but we’re especially envious of Brits tonight.

Vogue UK reports that Nick Knight will be shooting an editorial for their print book, starring Natalia Vodianova, in public view. Outside shoots are obviously subject to the public eye, but Knight’s actually inviting the masses to watch his shoot at Somerset House as part of his SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution exhibition.

Aside from Knight and Natalia, you’ll also get to watch Vogue UK’s fashion director Lucinda Chambers, stylist Sam McKnight and make-up artist Val Garland work the editorial. As for the clothes, it’s a fairy tale themed shoot featuring custom made dresses set for auction the following day. (The proceeds of which go to Natalia’s charity, The Naked Heart Foundation.)

They’ll be at Somerset until 9 so grab your umbrella and get there early.

We’re kind of obsessing over these shots of Natalia from the upcoming issue of V, shot by Hedi Slimane and styled by Nicola Formichetti (who also did that awesome Gaga video we put up the other day.)

One, because we never tire of Ms.Vodianova. Two, because we love pretty much everything that Hedi shoots. Three, the gold eye makeup. And four, we’re suckers for music references mixed with couture.

Here’s what we’ve come up with so far: the last shot is oh-so very Madonna “Like A Virgin” both the video and the classic VMA performance. In the middle spread, we’re feeling a little Brit Brit nude bodysuit circa that rockin’ “Oops I Did It Again” at the 2000 VMAs while we’re getting Grace Jones vibes from the one on the right.

But we’re a bit stymied as to the opening spread shot. What do you think??? (Oh and be warned there’s a little bit of nipple action.)

Dear Fashionista,

So here I was just wandering through Soho doing my thing when I happened upon Natalia at the corner of Prince and Greene, snapping shots of herself with a digital camera.

Though I suppose that’s just an average Thursday afternoon in this neighborhood. If it’s not a fashion shoot, it’s Gossip Girl, right?

Anyway I thought you guys would enjoy them! Also, how amazing are those shoes????

xoxo,

A Supermodel-Spotting Reader

This picture landed in my inbox because of the Bally bag Kate Hudson’s holding - which is cute - but I’m writing about it because of the kid.

It’s from the set of a shoot for Harper’s Bazaar (I swear we’re not trying to belabor our Bazaar feelings; it just keeps coming up) in which she’s modeling not just the latest fashion, but also her five-year-old son, Ryder.

The kid looks adorable, but it’s jarring to see him voluntarily put in front of the camera when so many people - famous people - complain about media attention toward their children. It’s something we touched on last year when Natalia Vodianova dragged her entire clan into the pages of Vogue and something we thought about again when Angela Lindvall posed with her kids in British Vogue and then gave her son a starring role in her Gap ad.

Is it okay because it’s a controlled environment, unlike the paparazzi on the sidewalk? Because they’re still kids either way, and they’re not the ones choosing to model, their parents just happen to be really, really pretty. Are we nuts? Or would you, too, prefer your fashion editorials without a side of child?

—PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEREMY KOST

(Ed. Note: Excuse us while we rewind a bit. We were anxious to get Burberry up as soon as possible, but we’ve still got a few pre-extravaganza things to discuss.)

There’s something about Christopher Kane where at first, you’re flummoxed by the collection, but then comes the slow burn. In time, you learn to understand and then grudgingly like it. Eventually, you don’t just love his pieces, but covet them ardently. We’ve been doing this dance with Kane for a few years now, so this time around we just went straight for the covet.

We were besotted from look one.

Kane reeled us in through simple nostalgia with the delicate pale pink gingham and beaded details. We’d bet every girl in the room (including Anna Wintour, Donatella Versace, Natalia Vodianova and randomly, Joan Collins,) returned to their five year old self, begging their mother for a pretty pink gingham picnic dress. Kane perfectly captured that sentimentality. Then he hit fast forward to adolescence, where girly-ness gave way to womanhood and a boned bust took root inside the gingham.

Thanks Sean!

The Vanity Fair International Best Dressed List has always somewhat baffled me. Maybe baffled isn’t quite the right word, but I’m always amused by what a mixed bag it is.

Of course, I don’t expect it to be a straight-up list of fashion folks, as that doesn’t truly represent the people covered regularly in VF. But man, do they throw in some random curveballs.

This year is no exception. Not surprisingly, both Michelle and Barack Obama (dad jeans, notwithstanding, I guess) make the list along with a smattering of royals, other world leaders, and their spouses. Think Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Sheikha Mozah of Qatar.

The fashion crowd is represented by Natalia V. and husband Justin Portman, Rachel Roy, Georgina Chapman, Tory Burch, and Franca Sozzani (love!), among others. On my questionable list is Stacy Bendet’s “Hello Kitty meets Joan Jett. Randomness” personal style. She’s a choice that makes me go…hmmmm.

In October, Nick Knight and SHOWstudio announced they’d be launching an epic exhibition at Somerset House to coincide with London Fashion Week SS09 and the BFC’s 25th Anniversary (the celebrations for which we’re already SO excited).

Well, now we know that the exhibit will showcase the site’s collaborations with designers, artists and models including Alexander McQueen, Liberty Ross, Gareth Pugh and Julie Verhoeven, as well as new collaborative films made specifically for the celebration and it’ll run from September through December.

One room will function as a photo studio, housing Nick Knight and his team preparing for on-site shoots. So you can watch his preparation live, instead of edited into a slick video. And while they’ll be shooting one hundred portraits of London’s hippest models, actors, musicians and artists, he’ll also be working with a major model.

And considering his taste in girls- Kate, Natalia, Irina, Daria, Lily - we’re kind of dying to know who it is. Guesses?

Lutz & Patmos gets all the cool girls.

They might make little more than sweaters, but they do manage to corral the most stylish women into guest designing those fancy sweaters.

From Kirsten Dunst to Jane Birkin to Sofia Coppola (though who hasn’t she collaborated with?) - their Fashion Week presentations are just as fun for the clothes as they are for the sightings and this one might beat it: Natalia Vodianova’s their next guest.

As of February, Natalia also designs lingerie for Etam (she’s their brand ambassador, too), which means she’s got you covered from the waist up.

Urban Scoops: Lizzie Fortunato’s working on a collaboration with Urban Outfitters, a role previously held by Bing Bang’s Anna Sheffield. It’ll be called Hope Marian and her jewels’ll look swell with Lark & Wolf’s striped tanks for summer. {TeenVogue}

Sneaking Suspicion: Natalia Vodianova for Vogue UK looks very similar, and yet so different, from Beth Ditto’s inaugural LOVE cover. {CatwalkQueen}

Inside Scoop: Your only look inside last night’s ball. #36 is an incredibly uncomfortable picture of Anna and Blake Lively. {Vogue}

Met Times: Eric Wilson on the ball, Kate Moss’ wad of gum and Helena Christensen’s silly dress. {NYTimes}

Come On Boys: Jack Bauer Kiefer Sutherland headbutted Jack McCollough at SubMercer last night and that half of Proenza’s still in the hospital. Reports say it’s over a girl but it’s pretty obvious that can’t be right. {Guest}

Well not really, but Gisele’s gone and bumped Kate Moss from her number one spot on MDC’s icon list.

Was it her marriage? Her numerous campaigns? Her ability to move flawlessly from Victoria’s Secret to Louis Vuitton? Maybe it’s because she’s one of the few models who really is just a model without a slash in sight.

So now Kate’s number two, followed by Claudia, Natalia and then Carolyn Murphy. And Naomi Campbell’s knocked out of the top five to number six.

Hope that doesn’t make her too upset.

So the new Vogue cover leaked, the much anticipated all-model one, and we’re trying to think of something nice to say.

Of course we love Liya and Natalia and Lara, and we’re kind of thrilled that Anna Maria Jagodzinska landed the actual cover. And their American Vogue Hair and rosy cheeks really is enviable - we won’t even touch on the subject of airbrushing except to say that it took us an extra minute to figure out that it was Jourdan Dunn in the middle.

But we’re stumped when it comes to any cohesive theme linking these women together. What exactly are “Faces of the Moment” and if Natalia Vodianova is one, what was she last year and the year before? None of these girls are new faces, none rose to fame this season, some are young and some are old, some are always in Vogue (Raquel, Liya, Natalia, Caroline) some aren’t (Natasha, Lara).

In fact, the only thing they all are is not American.

Are these the girls we should all be watching? Who do you wish had made the cover?

We knew Natalia Vodianova was the face of French lingerie brand Etam this season, and the partnership was obviously pretty serious since they launched a website dedicated to the Supernova smirking in her panties.

But apparently, the Russian doll’s been moonlighting as a designer for the brand, too, having hosted her own runway show for her lingerie designs, Natalia pour Etam, yesterday at the Ritz in Paris.

Natalia is set to design a new range every season for the next three years, while she serves as brand ambassador. There hasn’t been another major model turned designer other than Kate and Elle MacPherson - who also designs lingerie, though under her own company - in a while (other than the odd guest bag or Christy’s yoga line), but we wonder if Natalia has enough influence to start a whole new type of designer crazy - Model designers to take over celebrities?

Dear Natalia,

You’re basically the prettiest person we’ve ever seen, ever, and we smile every time we see you in the David Yurman ads or posing for DVF, or as the lone model on the cover of Vogue.

Having said that, we were all kind of freaked out by the faux-pastoral scene shot by Mario Testino with your family because, isn’t it sort of creepy to have beautiful you holding your terrified children on a horse? And it’s also rather disconcerting to see all of you looking in different directions, dazed.

Plus, this isn’t the first time you’ve done the whole ‘look at my gorgeous family’ thing in Vogue, but at a time when ostentation couldn’t be more inappropriate, this seems out of place.

We do have fond memories of the shots of Stella Tennant with her family, but that had an interview to accompany it, and was all about personal style, which made sense. But just seeing the Portman clan hanging out and playing dress up looking like Peter and Wendy grown up is just awkward.

I’m sure if you asked him nicely Mario would have done this shoot just for you.

Just saying.

—BRETT KANE

—PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEREMY KOST

We’ve been talking about it for a while, and we’ve come to this conclusion: We hate cover headlines.

They aim to say everything, but really, say nothing at all. We get that it’s an advertising thing for all of those non-subscribers out there, but shouldn’t the cover girl be enough?

We’re reminded of this whenever we find ourselves envious of most foreign fashion covers, especially the latest Vogue Italia with a magical Natalia covered by only one (very appropriate) word: ICON. Now, that says it all.

People already try to knock us for reading fashion magazines as part of our literary diet, and it doesn’t help our case when our eyes are peeking over the top of a cover that reads “DIY Dermatology” “The Junk Food Diet,” and “Space-Age Fitness” (all US Vogue headlines, mind you, but they’re not the only culprits).

We wish covers would return to the days of Dali art - couldn’t magazines at least go the way of Bazaar and send cover line-less editions to subscribers?

They clutter and confuse what should be the best photo of the entire edition. But phrases like “plastic surgery” sort of kill the glamour buzz.

What do you guys think?

—JAZZI McGILBERT