>> As a followup to the iconic commercial with Agyness Deyn for his Ma Dame fragrance, Jean Paul Gaultier got together with Parisian DJ and producer Martin Solveig — who he met at an exhibition last year — to make a music video for Solveig's song, "Boys & Girls."  The video, which features Solveig and Martina Sorbara from Canadian group Dragonette wearing the same outfit Agyness did, was filmed in Jean Paul Gaultier's couture house on rue Saint-Martin in Paris. Gaultier makes a cameo at the beginning.

The video! »

>> Even More Concerns About the Costume Institute Gala's Future Surface —The 2010 Costume Institute Gala rumors keep coming, and we don't even have a theme yet.  There will supposedly be slashed budgets and less star power — both celebrity and designer-wise — and a newly-appointed Vogue director of special events, Sylvana Soto-Ward, to oversee it all.  But the reservations don't stop there: According to an insider, Soto-Ward has never done any big event planning: "Sylvana didn't even plan her own engagement party — Anna Wintour had the in-house events team produce it for her. They've even pushed out [former director of special events] Stephanie [Winston Wolkoff]'s assistant and hired a consultant and some other assistants to operate as the real workhorses and pick up the slack." A Vogue spokesperson voiced no concern: "Anna has every confidence in Sylvana, and when anyone new comes in, departments are restructured." [NY Post]

>> Betsey Johnson recently told The Cut that she and her partner have been working on a succession plan for over a year, adding: “I should be retired. I’m basically screwing up because I’m not retired. I’d like to go in four days a month, something like that.”

She mentioned a possible replacement designer in Eric Sartori, who has worked for Vera Wang and Herve Leger, and added that she wanted to hand over the reins after her Spring 2010 show at New York Fashion Week in September: "But I’ll be a megaconsultant. I’ll go in. I want to be like Ralph [Lauren]. Like, I always imagined the perfect life is like Ralph, where he goes in, and his wonderful expert crews show him work, and he goes, 'Love it, love it, love it, um, we’ll just put that aside for the moment, love it, love it, hmmm.' You know what I mean?"

Today, it's a different story »

>> Rachel Zoe Finishes Filming This Week, Is Launching Newsletter —Rachel Zoe is back in Los Angeles after three weeks in New York, and she finishes filming season two of The Rachel Zoe Project — which premieres Aug. 25 on Bravo — this week.  Never one to take time off, she announced a new website and an upcoming lifestyle newsletter, "The Zoe Report," last night. [BlackBook]

>> Zandra Rhodes Crashes Car into San Diego Store —British designer Zandra Rhodes crashed her car through the front window of a hardware store in San Diego yesterday morning, injuring a customer inside.  The woman was struck by a table hit by Rhodes's car, but did not sustain any life-threatening injuries.  Rhodes, who lives part of the year north of San Diego near Del Mar, was not injured. No word on whether there will be charges. [San Diego Union-Tribune]

>> Donatella Versace Likes Shopping at Anthropologie and Abercrombie & Fitch —Donatella Versace is currently in New York to celebrate daughter Allegra's birthday and, as she blogged, "I need[ed] a change of scenery — somewhere to get some inspiration by taking in a wholly different culture." Furthermore, she writes, "I stay in the same suite in the same hotel every time I visit, and customize it with some Versace home cushions and scented candles and lots of flowers . . .  I like to indulge myself at . . . Anthropologie at 375 West Broadway, which has an eclectic, vintage feel that is very different than what we have in Milan. I will also buy my son Daniel some jeans at Abercrombie & Fitch on Fifth Avenue and visit Barneys, which I like because it is just what a Manhattan department store should be." [The Moment]

>> Anja Rubik scores Balmain; First Look at Lily Allen for Chanel—It appears that Anja Rubik is increasingly becoming an Emmanuelle Alt favorite — the Vogue Paris fashion director recently styled Anja for her first major Vogue cover, and now Anja is appearing in the new Balmain Fall 2009 ads, as spotted in the brand's Paris boutique (Alt is Balmain's stylist).  Meanwhile, Lily Allen's Fall 2009 Chanel handbag ads — for the launch of the new Chanel Coco Cocoon line — don't come out until October, but Chanel posted a photographic peek from the shoot, with Lily in crown. [Jak & Jil Twitter, Chanel]