>> Prabal Gurung, whose debut Fall 2009 collection earned him a spot on the designers-to-watch list, revealed to the New York Times that young designers can't just make chic clothes and succeed these days — there are various other factors. “I’ve certainly been told who I need to be hanging out with.”  

And instead of showing buyers clothes in his tiny studio apartment, he previews his collection in an apartment that belongs to a rich friend. Cathy Horyn writes:

"Five or six years ago buyers expected to find a young designer sleeping in a hole next to his fabrics. That’s where they found Miguel Adrover. He had even stopped paying the rent, he was so down and out. Now, though, they expect to see a designer in a luxury apartment he can’t possibly afford."

Gurung, who uses cashmere and wool even though industry friends told him he should make clothes like Balmain ("[Balmain's] not my voice"), had those same buyers tell him they wanted "modern fabrics."  He thought they were making excuses not to place an order, so he asked them what they meant: "They answered, 'Some kind of modern feel.' [laughing] I think they meant some kind of techy fabric."

>> We May Have a New It Brit Girl On Our Hands —There's a ruckus over Londonside because Pixie Geldof, Daisy Lowe, and Alice Dellal just switched agencies from Select to NEXT; their booker at Select, Sarah Leon (who is their close friend and also started the careers of Alexa Chung, Lily Donaldson, and Agyness Deyn), also left and may be starting up her own agency.  While that last part is speculation, one thing is for sure — Leon's next protegee is Tali Lennox, daughter of Annie Lennox, who we all may be seeing more of very soon, judging by her past success. [Grazia] 

>> Fashion labels have become increasingly enamored with producing short art films in the last couple of years, but with High, Jonathan Kelsey becomes the first shoe designer to throw his hat into the ring. Directed by Sara Dunlop and featuring designer favorite, French model and actress Joana Preiss, the four minute film latches onto the current vampire craze and delves into more violent territory than fashion films have in the past.

Kelsey says that was the idea: "Most fashion shorts I've seen tend to look great, but can feel like stretched-out adverts. We wanted something with depth, and a genuine narrative . . . the new winter collection [is] dark, loaded with hard edges and rock chick attitude. We wanted the film to reflect this, while pushing the envelope within the genre."  The film was screened in London last night, where Preiss admitted, “I was totally involved in this vampire woman character, so I couldn’t sleep during the night and was afraid of the daylight."

The video! »

>> Kate Moss's Media Moguldom Might Not Be Happening, After All —Earlier this week, the Daily Mail ran a story from unnamed sources claiming that Kate Moss is joining Sir Philip Green and Simon Cowell in their forthcoming entertainment venture. Industry sources in London, however, are not so convinced.  Though Moss's modeling agency Storm wouldn't comment, a source close to Kate said the story is just not true.  A spokeswoman for Green also declined comment, but an industry source close to both Green and Cowell denied the claims and dismissed the tabloids as "making mischief." [WWD] 

>> 2009 has been a big year of change for Sophie Dahl — she got engaged to jazz musician Jamie Cullum in March, and now the rumors that she is getting her own cooking show have been confirmed. Dahl published her first cookbook, Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights: Guilt-free Eating with Abandon, last year; her upcoming show, which is as-yet-untitled, will air next year on BBC Two in the UK, featuring a mix of recipes from the book and Sophie revisiting "treasured and nostalgic" places which relate to the recipes.

The show, which will consist of six episodes, each with a different theme, is being produced by Jamie Oliver's television company. “Cooking often serves as an emotional barometer, and with this show we will run the gamut — from a solo dinner that suits melancholy to a homecoming feast for 20,” Dahl elucidated. “It’s cooking with an anecdotal thread — irreverent, unpredictable and not without flaw.”

>> T's Stefano Tonchi Jumping Ship to Vogue? —With all the suffering at the New York Times and the recent downsizing of its T style magazine, rumors are starting to fly that the magazine's editor Stefano Tonchi — who always attends couture but was mysteriously missing from the Paris shows last week (in fact, all of T was) — is in the running for a top job at Vogue.  The position in question is not Anna Wintour's, so where would he sit? He's previously worked as fashion director at L'Uomo Vogue and fashion creative director at Esquire . . . [FWD]

>> Bernard Arnault, Francois Pinault Are Playing Nice, Still Rich —With the lapse of almost a decade since the fight over Gucci, LVMH's Bernard Arnault and PPR's Francois Pinault are experiencing a detente, symbolized by their willingness to appear on the cover of French business magazine Challenges together this week.  The accompanying story credits Arnault's wife, Helene, with the warming of feelings when she embraced Pinault's wife Maryvonne at an event last November.  Since, the Arnaults invited the Pinaults to dinner on May 26. The magazine also tabulates France's largest fortunes, with Arnault (14.58 billion euros) in second, the Hermes family (7.68bn euros) in fourth, Pinault (4.95bn euros) in sixth, and Alain Wertheimer and family, owner of Chanel, (3.5bn euros) in tenth. [WWD]