>> Valentino Garavani may have retired from fashion — or maybe not, there are rumors that he had a hand in the Fall 2009 Valentino collection — but either way, he's been a busy man promoting the impending US premiere of Valentino: The Last Emperor tomorrow, March 18, in New York.  He does, however, say he's "extremely happy to have quit from fashion. All of the designers are doing the eighties. I hate the eighties. I did it, and I hate it. When I go to see my dresses of the eighties, I vomit.”  Instead, he's appearing on Oprah, The Martha Stewart Show, receiving a Rodeo Drive Walk of Style award, and contemplating designing for opera and ballet.

As for the movie, Matt Tyrnauer, the documentary's director, promises "one explosion after the other. Valentino is very impatient. He’s a Taurus. He loves the drama. There are divo moments and there are tantrums, and a lot of them are directed at the camera. It’s sort of like a cross between a hurricane and a cyclone." Which made it interesting when he first showed Valentino and his partner Giancarlo Giammetti the director's cut: "It was not easy.  To tell you the truth, they kind of freaked out. We had some healthy discussions and multiple screenings over the course of several months. And they have come to accept it."

You've probably seen the pug-filled trailer by now, but another clip is below, featuring Karl Lagerfeld telling Valentino after his show, "That's the way it should be done.  Compared to us, the rest are making rags."  After the movie hits New York, it travels to Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles — information here.

The clip! »

>> INSIDER WIRE —MTV's new House of Style featuring hosts Chanel Iman and Bar Refaeli, plus Erin Fetherston, apparently, has a premiere date: this upcoming Saturday, March 21, at 3 PM EST.  Also of note — apparently it's a special, not a series. [FWD]

*image: source

Diary Of A Mad Fashionista posted about body image in the media and who is fighting on which side...

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic reviewed Philosophy's deliciously scented body wash options. 

A Few Goody Gumdrops interviewed the designers behind hot handbag line Be & D. 

Style Mom rounded up this week's best online sales from sample sale website ideeli. 

>> In anticipation of the CNN: Revealed spotlight on Carine Roitfeld that airs tomorrow, a couple of previews of the interviews have been released, touching on her feelings about all the Anna Wintour replacement speculation ("frustrating"), computers ("they're not my specialty"), and what she has in store for the future (plus a great set of pictures).  She insists she has no plans to leave Vogue Paris — yet:

"I'm very happy here," she tells CNN, before adding cryptically, "but I'm sure something new is going to happen in the next year."

While you ponder what that might mean, a few more highlights.

Vogue Paris didn't give up their two towncars for Paris Fashion Week, only a coffee machine, but in this economy, frugality is key.

"I think we need to become more frugal.  Not on quality, just on organization.  It's become ridiculous," she tells CNN, explaining that where once eight people may have gathered around a table to discuss a photo shoot, now there are 25. "Some things got too far away. There were people who were flying private jets — we need to go back to reality.  I don't want to take the money out of the beauty of the picture, I don't want to change the paper of the magazine, I don't want to change the materials, but we can do it another way.  When it's more difficult you have to be more creative."

How about that Vogue job? »

>> INSIDER WIRE —Rather than culminating in the Oscars like it did last season, it appears that The Rachel Zoe Project will include Paris Fashion Week for its second season: a producer and camera crew were following her around, filming at a number of shows, including Louis Vuitton. [FWD]

*image: source

>> Her appearance last month at Premiere Vision's fabric fair was for a reason, after all — Jil Sander just signed a "design consulting agreement" to oversee men's and women's wear at Uniqlo, marking her first official return to fashion since she left her eponymous label in 2004.

She will not have an official title at the company, but basically, she will be taking over the creative for all products excluding accessories and children's wear.  Sander is also collaborating with Uniqlo on a special collection bearing her minimalist touch, which will launch for Fall 2009.

The match seems ideal, considering that Uniqlo focuses on simple lines and fabric innovation, which will mesh with Sander's aesthetic, but as Style File points out, she's not done very well with collaborations in the past — she left her signature label due to conflict with Prada CEO Patrizio Bertelli twice.

Or maybe she's pulling a Phoebe Philo.  After Phoebe left fashion, she returned quietly to consult at Gap for a couple of years or so before coming back into the high fashion fold; maybe that's what Jil has in mind?
*image: source

>> INSIDER WIRE —Sarah Frances Kuhn, accessories editor at Teen Vogue, recently opened her Williamsburg apartment for a peek into her natural habitat.  She leans toward vintage dresses, has a band with Eviana Hartman of Bodkin, and "never spends more than $150 on shoes." [Refinery29]