>> INSIDER WIRE — Katie Grand's picked herself up a new magazine deal, but all we really know about the new mag is that it will be biannual and high-end fashion.  Since the launch isn't until March, it will be a while before we get more specifics, but according to Katie, "it will be different, though not completely different . . . My aim is to do something as cool as POP but with a much wider circulation, which I think we will be able to achieve with the incredible marketing budget [Conde Nast has] given us." [Style File]

>> The model who fainted at Alexander McQueen today has been identified as Abbey Lee Kershaw.

According to an eyewitness, "When she was coming to the end [of the runway], back near the [entrance] ramp, I could tell she was having difficulties, because her steps were getting shorter and shorter, they were more like baby steps. I was reading her face and I could see 'struggle' all over it and I was thinking, 'She's not going to make it'."

Abbey Lee fainted just as she was about to exit the runway, was helped backstage by two members of the production crew, and did not walk the finale.  The cause of her fainting spell was thought to be the combination of the tight corset and high heels she was wearing; A person involved with the show blamed it on fatigue — Abbey Lee had been awake since 5 am.  After the show, fellow model Ali Stephens confirmed that Abbey Lee was "OK," and apparently she left "on her own legs." 

>> A LITTLE TURN ON THE CATWALK —Bruno hasn't stolen away all the humor at Paris Fashion Week — Alexander McQueen ended his show Donnie Darko-style, appearing for his runway wave in a bunny suit. And that wasn't the only surprise, though this one wasn't humorous at all.  Apparently one of the models fainted as she walked off the runway and had to be carried away. [ShowStudio, TFS]
*image: source

>> INSIDER WIRE —If you've never imagined a Chanel ad campaign with a Vermont backdrop, start imagining now.  Karl Lagerfeld just bought himself a six-bedroom, 1840 landmark building on an island in Lake Champlain, Vermont, sight unseen — "I love it.  It’s very much Emily Dickinson" — and already has plans for ad photoshoots there. [WWD]

>> Sacha Baron Cohen's successful stint as Bruno at Stella McCartney yesterday must have emboldened him, because now he's all over the map.  Last night, he was filming at the Givenchy party, and today, he tried to get into Vanessa Bruno wearing a sailor suit and throwing an anchor, but was refused entry.

He was able to get into Jean Charles de Castelbajac, though, and antics ensued: "He whipped out a fold out chair, placed it in front of the front rowers and started writing love letters to girls in the audience. Then he jumped on stage shouting into his mobile phone and walked down the catwalk with the last model."

[break]Video: He also passed notes to the models! »[/break]

A video of the Jean Charles de Castelbajac mayhem.

*image: source

>> THE MODELIZER —Instead of walking in Yves Saint Laurent yesterday, Lily Donaldson took a seat front row — after the first look came out.  The brand's Fall face Naomi Campbell was also in attendance, and "hooted and hollered" when Chanel Iman appeared on the runway. [Teen Vogue]

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>> It's Paris Fashion Week, and those frustrations that were building on Model.Live in Milan finally come to a head — at least for Madeline Kragh.  Austria Alcantara seems to have given up — she gets a pep talk about confidence and then sent off to 12 castings; she aims to make 8 of them but ends up doing less: "The agency's going to kill me."  Cato van Ee says that she wouldn't model at Austria's age — she didn't want to give up her childhood — but then Cato is having plenty of success with her shows and has a visit from boyfriend Simon, while Austria seems all alone — no mother or agent in sight.

And then there's Madeline, who thought everything was going so well . . . Issey Miyake and Vivienne Westwood seemed within her reach . . . and then didn't come through: "Everybody's so sorry and they love me and they're happy I'm back in Paris, but everybody wants Cato."  Will everything even out?  Next week's Paris Fashion Week episode will tell.

>> MODA OPERANDI —Pending board approval, Alessandra Facchinetti, as rumored, is out at Valentino.  Contrary to rumors, however, her replacement will not be Giambattista Valli — although many thought his collection yesterday looked like a tryout for the job — but rather Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, the longtime accessories duo at Valentino.  Fachinetti is said to have clashed with management over design direction and production costs. [WWD]