I woke up early to see Ali Michael on The Today Show this morning, and her appearance confirmed what we've been heralding for months:

Team Ali Michael!

And yet, it was also quite sad.

As Ali told her story, she mentioned she'd stopped eating around age sixteen, which led to her hair falling out, her period stopping, and her energy and focus depleting. I felt gross and guilty when Ali said that, because it's when I first met her, and I would never have known she was ill. In fact, backstage during New York and London Fashion Weeks, I thought she was one of the most articulate, confident, intelligent, and genuinely cool girls working in the industry.

She is still all those things, but -

The segment will air sometime between 8 and 9 am, so if you can't camp out for Ali's big appearance, set your DVRs to record the little fashion superstar in action.

Ali is also featured in an upcoming Teen Vogue article about her recent experiences getting cut from runway shows after gaining 5 lbs.

Faran wants her to intern for NYLON this summer, but she'll probably be too busy.

Meanwhile, did you know that Jourdan Dunn is in town getting fitted for a Vogue fashion shoot?

Keep your eyes out!

This really isn't how you sell clothes...

Leigh Lezark has just been signed as their newest model/cute girl/fashion favorite for "worldwide representation and endorsement".

Leigh's no stranger to the job - she's walked for House of Holland, posed for Roberto Cavalli for H&M, and she recently not-smiled for the Holiday Gap ads (not to mention her countless editorials).

According to IMG, the decision to sign her as an official face was easy - they think "she is the definition of cool and is exactly what is happening in fashion right now" plus she's really pretty.

In other Misshapes news: the trio's feting their soon-to-be-relaunched website with a party at the Tribeca Grand on June 7th, and they're also getting ready for a serious summer of DJ'ing - they're doing both H&M openings in Vancouver and Montreal in addition to touring all summer, and they're also in the midst of a "music project" with Gaultier Paris.

But back to Leigh - wouldn't she be the perfect replacement for Cory Kennedy's Urban Decay ads? We think so.

Catwalk Queen's reporting that the mass beauty brand has signed another face to star alongside Kate, and it's Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

The English pop star's reportedly signed a multi-pound, three-year contract requiring her to shoot two campaigns per year, the first of which is already finished.

Coty, Rimmel's parent company, claims they're just looking for new faces to reach new global markets, but that Kate will stay on as the brand's worldwide ambassador.

We're wondering if the beautiful Laurie Bing will finally be bumped up from press model to public ad girl, but we guess we'll have to wait and see...

First, she was named the face of the French lingerie brand Chantelle, then she did an amazing spread for V followed by an entire issue of Pop that was literally too steamy for our front page, then she was named contributing fashion editor at Interview (we are anxiously awaiting for her interview with Alaia - you know it has to happen), and then she shot a Gap campaign alongside Shalom.

So what's left?

A catalog, apparently. Saks' fall preview book will feature Stephanie as the only model for all 63 pages, shot by Nathaniel Goldberg, Sebastián Faena and Jamie Isaia.

Memo to Vogue: She obviously wants to work a lot again, so please book her way in advance for next year's shape issue. You know she's the best choice!

The Marilyn model's been working for just two weeks, and she's already on the verge of blowing up.

She met with W yesterday, is being shot for Vogue US this week, and has already done a spread with Testino.

Oh, and she's definitely in the upcoming Vogue Italia - twice. She scored one spread all by herself, and another alongside Jourdan, Chanel and Alek Wek.

The Dominican cutie was also spotted hanging with the models at the Met Ball Monday night, some people even say she looked better than most of the girls there...

And to think, we still have no idea what her last name is.

Ladies and gentlemen, that model is Jessica Stam.

The blonde who claims The Virgins as her favorite band and Anthony Kiedis as her ex-boyfriend will take the turntables next week at Eyebeam Studios, when The Down To Earth party hypes Women's Health Magazine (which we're sure Stam has never been in) and The Environmental Media Association.

But can Stam actually DJ?

Well, probably not, but maybe she's been taking night lessons:

Besides being pals with Leigh Lezark of The MisShapes, she also dated DJ AM, who seems to know a thing or two about mix tapes.

Is Daisy Lowe getting recast in the A.P. ads this Fall?!

We really hope the rumor is true, because Daisy is not only a very cool girl, but she's a girl with a very healthy, incredible body, and one that could proudly represent young women in a campaign for sexy, powerful, cool girls.

There's only one question:

How will Daisy handle her new job as a TV talk show hostess with her upcoming campaign duties as the face of one of Britain's biggest and coolest brands?

Multitasking works best in ruffled panties, yes?

We missed Karlie at the Met Ball last night - but this video makes up for it.

She pirouettes across the dance room at her agency, gets "wholesome" and "classic" career advice from Molly Sims and talks about how her love of sports turned into a love of runways.

The best part is when she teaches New York Magazine reporter Kendall Herbst how to walk - the lesson comes complete with signature death stare.

We love watching models talk. It's such a good reminder of just how young they really are.

The Strangers Exclusive Clip
Serena Van Der Woodsen isn't the only dangerous beauty out there:

Gemma Ward's new movie The Strangers might actually come out soon, and MySpace is running this clip of her chasing Liv Tyler through a creepy locked house, wearing a creepy white mask, and carrying a big knife.

The clip reveals nothing about the movie except that Liv Tyler has excellent hair and a powerful scream, but oh well -

If the hype keeps up, maybe next season's Costume Ball can be all about thrillers and macabre, and then Alexander McQueen can have a field day and Gemma + Liv can host.

"Someone somewhere along the line decided that we need a new culture-by-way-of-fashion icon as a sort of generational figurehead. That Moss chick, well, she's just been around a bit long now, hasn't she? And Lily Cole, well, rather unjustly, she somehow became the visual symbol for any discussion about anorexia, so citing her as an icon of fabulous fashionability became a little bit tricky. And then, with the kind of timing that would have Dorothy Parker gasp with envy, up pops Agyness, with her misspelt fake name (Laura Hollins, since you asked), her northern accent (so that what is often referred to as "the London style press" - aka, those big magazines that have a commendable appreciation for the utterly meaningless and will include at least one black and white photo of a model standing by a dirty canal and wearing ugly shoes and a headdress from last year's Notting Hill Carnival - can patronisingly refer to her as "real"), her frankly weird taste in clothes and her fondness for hanging out with people who live in east London. To be honest, there are times when I doubt if she's an actual human being but rather a CGI construct from the office of Dazed & Confused" - Hadley Freeman, on the Agyness Deyn phenomenon, in the Guardian.

Agyness' Who video is on MySpace TV...

From: EnglishRose@fashion.co.uk

FACT:

Agyness Deyn will not be in the Burberry campaign next season.

Trust this.

We do trust it, but that leaves a bigger question:

Enough anticipation already - can it please be 8?!

Now we're fixated on a new rising model, but the difference is, he's a boy.

The cutie in question is Hayes Peebles, a 16-year-old singer / songwriter from upstate New York who's already been photographed by David Bailey for Teen Vogue.

Peebles was recently shot by Hedi Slimane, with photos of his muscular bare back - and his plastic Star Wars and Batman toys - posted on Hedi's website.

We suspect they're part of a bigger series for V Man magazine, but that's just a well-placed hunch based on where we got the tipoff about the pictures.

Obviously, the bigger discussion about this is - well, should there be a bigger discussion?

The interview really isn't that interesting until the very end, when Garcia starts to talk about the high turnover in the fashion industry, sort of alluding to her own shaky position that she must have known about -

"The turnover is very quick. So people get even more insecure about their jobs and positions, the hierarchy. It’s silly! But you have to keep it in perspective. It’s only fashion.”

But the issue has an even more fun little snippet than Nina's -

Some first-ever seen images from the upcoming Kate Moss for Agent Provocateur ads (more on that, in video form, later).

We can't believe she's supposed to look "virginal."

"I was given a crash course in playing softball and at one point hit the ball so hard it actually broke in half." - Naomi Campbell, on her softball scene for Ugly Betty.

She'll appear on The Today Show in June, supposedly with Teen Vogue's Amy Astley, to discuss body image and fashion.

The segment will focus on an upcoming Teen Vogue shoot with the Texas model, where she discusses her experiences in Paris and how they varied when she went from 100 lbs to 105 lbs.

Some of our friends in the industry pointed out that several other girls were also excluded from many runway shows because of their size, but Ali is the only one who's been vocal about it.

It's a tricky issue, especially since the majority of Americans have health issues because of obesity, not because of skinny models. And yet, the standards set by the fashion industry have huge ramifications on the rest of pop culture, and therefore the rest of youth culture.

Thankfully, Ali seems smart enough to discuss the whole thing gracefully. Good luck, babe.

It started twenty minutes late, PR girls everywhere, editors pretending to ignore the free champagne, assistants in standing room only - the Vogue girls even held court from their first and second row seats, just like the good old days of February.

The clothes were, of course, perfect Banana Republic - cozy coats, elegant dresses, a muted color scheme of mostly blacks and grays.

But we think the real standout of the night was the models. Not only did Iekeliene walk for the label's 30th anniversary, but we fell in love with a new girl, too -

Meet Arlenis (she's so new we don't even know her last name), a newbie at Marilyn who's not only rumored to be involved in the already infamous Vogue Italia set to drop this July, but who's also a favorite of COACD.

Every time she stepped out on the runway, eyes stopped staring in the direction of the clothes, and went up to try and figure out where in the world this girl came from.

Can't wait to see what she walks in September...