>> A LITTLE TURN ON THE CATWALK —Frida Giannini knows how to party.  For resort 2009, she can't let Chanel and Dior get the best of her, so she too is staging a full Gucci runway show, followed by a party, in Rome on July 8.  

The whole ordeal celebrates Gucci's 70 years in Rome plus their newly renovated Roman flagship, but Frida couldn't wait another month to show the collection off, so she gave a preview yesterday in New York.  "It's a bit hippie but not too much." [WWD]