>> After a manicure yesterday and another round of rumors about his future placement, Olivier Theyskens turned up on the Costume Institute gala red carpet with Lou Doillon in Nina Ricci on his arm.  So what does he have to say about the possibility of an Anna Wintour-orchestrated takeover at Halston? “Oh God. These are rumors.”  When further prodded, he started laughing: "These rumors — I have to live with that.”  But there's no outright denial, it just sounds like he's still weighing his options. “Oh, this I don’t know. Really. It’s really something I don’t know.”

Down the way, Andre Leon Talley — who is usually outspoken about who he wants to work with for the red carpet (this time around he was in pursuit of Marisa Tomei), but after a very public misstep or two, he seems to have reconsidered on stamping his name on specific looks: "I gave a lot of advice to a lot of people, but they shall remain nameless because they don’t want me to say who I’m giving advice to."  Does that mean Anna Wintour doesn't want him connected as a stylist to certain looks?  Or that the people he dressed didn't want to be connected with him?

>> INSIDER WIRE —It was appropriate that the same day Anna Wintour went on record citing preference for actress Vogue covers, the supermodels boycotted her main event.  Well, apparently it wasn't just all about the Alaia snub: they felt that they should have had co-hosting duties alongside Kate Moss.  Only thing is, Kate had the money to back her up — Sir Philip Green supposedly paid up to make it all happen.  The Imagist warns about expecting another Vogue model cover anytime soon, but the editors over at Harper's Bazaar are supposedly at work recreating the iconic Peter Lindbergh motorcycle shoot with all the supermodels. [The Imagist]

>> While we wait for Audrey Tautou's stateside debut as Coco Chanel — still no release date for Coco avant Chanel — her new commercial for Chanel No. 5 has debuted.  The gig, which reportedly paid around $4.3 million for three weeks of work, was directed by her Amelie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and has similar whimsical cinematography as their previous work together.  An accompanying print campaign is still to follow.

The full commercial »

>> INSIDER WIRE —There were a lot of designers missing from last night's festivities — Karl Lagerfeld, Stefano Gabbana, Domenico Dolce, Christopher Bailey among them — but even more notable was the lack of certain designers on the red carpet: Balenciaga, Prada and Miu Miu weren't represented at all (though Dasha Zhukova wore vintage Prada), and typical heavyweight Giorgio Armani had one sole wearer — Claire Danes.  Meanwhile, Phi emerged as a dark horse — watch out Proenza Schouler, Andreas Melbostad is taking over your crowd — Erin Wasson, Natasha Poly, Lauren Santo Domingo, and Vanessa Traina all chose the label last night. [Style File]

>> Despite all the drama before and after, the Costume Institute Gala itself furnished plenty of notable and quotable moments; for those who were wondering, Carine Roitfeld did attend, even though it was reported that Julia Restoin-Roitfeld would not.

Gisele Bundchen pulled out of John Galliano's table at the last minute, choosing to ride in with the Versace camp instead; it sounds like she might be returning as the label's Fall 2009 face — the New York Times reports that her custom Versace dress "was conceived while she was modeling for [Donatella’s] next ad campaign." Helena Christensen, meanwhile, joked of her Zac Posen dress, which read "Vogue," the V formed by a plunging neckline: “It’s so I can remember whose party I’m at."

And while Kate Moss was on hostess duty (and presumably her best behavior) for Anna Wintour, she still managed to be herself, pulling a big wad of gum out of her mouth when asked about being a muse: “I’m amused.  I think it’s quite interesting for somebody to go outside of the box and think that a model actually has had some input into fashion. A lot of the time, the models don’t really get a say.”

But they do have a bathroom fascination »

Lollie Shopping wrote about three current footwear trends worth testing out. ..

Toronto Style reviewed a new foundation set from Lancome which has SPF 21. 

The Ghetto Fashionista reminded readers of a new fashion television show which airs tomorrow. 

Fashion Without Guilt called up current deliveries from high street retailer Charlotte Russe. 

>> INSIDER WIRE —After all the Alaia-related Costume Institute Gala drama yesterday, we wondered if anything would top it all at the actual event.  Well, a drunken reveler managed to step on and ruin Natalia Vodianova's vintage Fortuny dress (a gift from husband Justin Portman seven years ago) at one after-party, and at another, it's rumored that Keifer Sutherland headbutted Proenza Schouler designer Jack McCullough, breaking his nose.  Apparently, the actor was upset over Brooke Shields?  It's all very hazy . . . [Guest of a Guest]