>>  INSIDER WIRE —Despite all the rumors about Russian Vogue editor Aliona Doletskaya taking over editorship of Vogue, in reality, her name has only been pitched into the pile.  Anna Wintour's done quite a job entrenching herself as necessary to the magazine, but just in case you want to know who else beside Aliona might stand a chance at getting a piece of the pie, a quick rundown . . . [The Cut]

>> Alessandra Facchinetti doesn't show her collection for Valentino until tomorrow, but since Giambattista Valli — whose name has been thrown around as her successor at Valentino — showed today, all eyes were watching to see what kind of move he would make.  Valli himself was noncommital about the rumors — "I have no comment to make on that. I wish Alessandra the best of luck with her show tomorrow. I think she is doing a wonderful job." — but he didn't convince everybody.

Many saw Valli's collection as a tryout for the job: Hilary Alexander was convinced she saw clues: "the print on the silk and organza dresses was inspired by fading Roman frescoes and his mood board featured photographs of numerous Roman statues – and we all know Rome is the HQ of the legendary house of Valentino."  Suzy Menkes — though less explicit — saw it too: "the show looked too much like a résumé for someone who wants to take over a couture house."

And just for posterity, Fashion Week Daily reaffirmed the general feeling: "If there was any doubt that Giambattista Valli is in the running to become the heir apparent at Valentino, he surely quieted non-believers and made a strong case for the job with today's show. The collection was filled with the sort of red carpet fare that the house of Valentino depends upon."  So how long do you think before there's an announcement?
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>> BLOWING THE COVER —The November 2008 issue of Vogue UK features an unlikely trio of British beauties, photographed by Emma Summerton: history-maker Jourdan Dunn, up-and-comer Eden Clark, and blueblood Burberry face Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.  The latter is an interesting choice to round out the three, since Jourdan and Eden are runway models through-and-through, while Rosie is better known for her Victoria's Secret work. [Models.com Daily Feed]

>> After storming Milan Fashion Week, Sacha Baron Cohen's alter ego Bruno is back for another round — this time in Paris.  From his perch second row at Stella McCartney this morning, a sleeveless leather vest-sporting Bruno sat smoothing his hair during the show, showing "wild approval for some looks, disdain for others."  And then the fun began.

Apparently, he leaned forward, a red thong clearly visible above his jeans, and pushed those sitting front row in front of him aside so he could get a better look at the models.  Clapping along to the music, he pulled a tampon out of his vest and sucked on it, continuing the act until Stella McCartney came out for her bow, when he moved his hand to indicated he deemed the show okay, but not great.

So did Stella invite Bruno?  He did have a seat, after all.  WWD thinks so and Stella's response to act indicated that she might have — when asked if she knew about it, she broke out into a broad grin. "Bruno?" she exclaimed. "I had no idea!"  And then she laughed.
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>> INSIDER WIRE —Karl Lagerfeld always focuses his Chanel shows around a giant centerpiece — in the last few shows it's been a 75-foot tall Chanel jacket, a giant carousel, and a 50-foot set of organ pipes, but for tomorrow's Spring 2009 presentation?  Lagerfeld divulged: "It will be truly magnificent. It's a massive 35-foot recreation of our famous 31 Rue Cambon. Wait 'til you see it. It will be absolutely epic!" [FWD]

>> Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren may have nixed their Spring 2009 runway show in favor of an online fashion film, but the new virtual presentation — online now — was quite an ordeal in its own.  As the only model in the seven-minute film, Shalom had to act as fit model and then afterwards walk the 70-foot runway five times in each of the 20 looks, allowing the cameras to capture all the necessary angles.  To compensate for the two 14-hour days in high heels the work required, Viktor & Rolf had a foot masseur on set to keep Shalom on her feet.

The film opens with Shalom running in and proclaiming, in the words of Audrey Hepburn's Funny Face character, that she's late for the show.  But Funny Face theme aside, the collection is pure Viktor & Rolf — theatrical (also perhaps less so than past collections), full of ruffles, and bold — not to mention those three dresses embroidered with 20,000 Swarovski crystals each, which weigh in at about 44 pounds per dress.
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>> THE MODELIZER —The runways have brought plenty of surprise walkers this week — Iselin Steiro and Natalia Vodianova at Balenciaga, Ana Claudia Michels, Frankie Rayder, and Dewi Driegen at Givenchy . . . and now Naomi Campbell is rumored to be appearing on the Hermes runway on Saturday. [Chic Report]