Elizabeth Saltzman Walker

>> One of Valentino Garavani's favorite models, Natalia Vodianova, missed the big premiere of his documentary; she was in London for the launch of the 2009 Fashion Fringe search for emerging British design talent — the UK's version of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award — instead.  In celebration of this year's honorary chairperson, Donatella Versace, who flew in from Milan for the event, guests like Claudia Schiffer, Roland Mouret, Jonathan Saunders, and Jacquetta Wheeler were served "Donatella Delight" cocktails.  Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet is also on the judging panel this year, as is Jimmy Choo founder Tamara Mellon, who is overseeing the introduction of Fashion Fringe's first accessories prize.  The four as yet unnamed finalists will show capsule collections during Spring 2010 London Fashion Week, and the winner — who in the past has been Basso & Brooke and Erdem — receive upwards of £100,000 for a follow-up show.
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>> At last night's annual Accessories Council ACE Awards, Nicholas Ghesquiere may have been awarded Designer of the Year, Sally Singer the Marylou Luther Award for Fashion Journalism, and Tamara Mellon's Jimmy Choo the Brand of the Year, but Stella McCartney was awarded the most special treatment.

The designer, who was flanked by Helena Christensen, Coco Rocha, and Dean Koons and anointed with a new award, Green Designer of the Year, had her table completely set with salads while everyone else had "a decadent lobster plate."  And out of respect for her vegan views, even her award — a Judith Leiber miaundiere — was made green, with a black hemp lining in leather's stead and no stainless steel plating.  Such attention to detail kept Stella in a high mood — she joked as she accepted her award, "Little did I know that my award would be second to last and I would need to use the ladies' room after putting on my unitard outfit. But that's life!"
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