>> Jean Paul Gaultier is quick to defend John Galliano: "I know John a little and I must say that what he does for his work shows he is not a racist . . . When you see the video, you can see it is someone teasing him . . . John is very talented. He has done some beautiful things for Dior. I think it is completely sad that he doesn't have his own label anymore. I think it's bad." His feelings for Anna Wintour, however, seem quite different — he says he didn't care for The Devil Wears Prada because "Anna Wintour is a lot more monstrous than she is described!" And when asked whether Wintour is a positive figure, he simply replied, "She is a figure." [Independent UK]

>> Last month, Alexa Chung officially got herself a new TV show on American airwaves. Lifetime ordered 10 episodes of 24 Hour Catwalk, a reality series that Chung will host, with Cynthia Rowley, Derek Blasberg, and publicist James LaForce serving as the judging panel.

In the latest issue of Teen Vogue, Chung talks about her involvement in the show, which follows four designers over the course of 24 hours as they compete in what is framed as a younger, hipper version of Project Runway. The four designers are narrowed down to two based on their vision, talent, and endurance, with a $10,000 grand prize for the ultimate winner. Each episode brings a new crop of competitors.

"With a lot of other fashion shows, it's not actually relevant," Chung says. "I only wanted to do this if it was going to be a genuine search for designers and if I would be working alongside people who are legitimate in the fashion industry." She adds of her last American television experience, hosting It's On With Alexa Chung, which was canceled less than a year into its run: "I got so burnt by the last [show]. [But] everything feels right this time. I really like the team. From day one, we've laughed nonstop."

>> After recent rumors that LVMH could be interested in buying a stake in Alexander Wang (or that he is being considered for a design role at Christian Dior or Louis Vuitton), what does the designer have to say for himself on the matter? Nothing — he declined to respond — aside from a "nervous giggle," WWD reports.

Emphasizing his pride at growing a company without external financing, he didn't rule out the possibility of a future alliance: “I always take a meeting, and I always want to hear what people have to offer, but at the same time, I’ve been very content with focusing on our own brand. If I was to do something else, I would want to do something that would be completely different from me. Sometimes you don’t get to say all you want to say in your brand. When the right opportunity comes, it will present itself in a way that I’ll be inspired by it. But right now, it’s not like, ‘Oh I’m after that house, I want to do that.’”

Currently, he's focusing on expanding into new categories, like home lifestyle accessories, he said.

>> As rumored, the 2012 Costume Institute Gala and exhibit will focus on Italian designers Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada.

Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada: On Fashion will run May 10 to Aug. 19, and will be underwritten by Amazon alongside Conde Nast. Serving as honorary chair at the May 7 gala is Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, with Carey Mulligan, Miuccia Prada, and Anna Wintour as co-chairs. Baz Luhrmann will act as creative consultant to the exhibition, helping to oversee its design.

Curators Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton aim to examine the way Schiaparelli and Prada broke fashion convention and played with the ideas of good and bad taste as well as their affinity to the art world. “Once we got Schiaparelli as the core part of what we wanted to do, it became a logical jump to Miuccia,” Koda said. “They are both Italian women, and even though Miuccia might not describe herself as a feminist, what we see is these two very strong women with a very strong aesthetic.”

The exhibit is expected to feature about 80 designs by Schiaparelli from the late '20s through the early '50s and by Prada from the late '80s through present day, drawn primarily from The Costume Institute's collection and the Prada archive.