>> Balenciaga Spring 2010 Ad Cast Said to Be All Models, But No Miranda Kerr —The Spring 2010 shows are over; let the campaign guessing games begin.  First up on the rumor mill: Balenciaga.  Spring 2009 saw a bevy of models cast, Fall 2009 focused on Jennifer Connelly, and for Spring 2010, it sounds like we're back to all models — Kasia Struss and "three unknowns" are said to be involved.  Guess that means Miranda Kerr, who Nicholas Ghesquiere personally requested for the show, won't be having an Adriana Lima-Givenchy moment. [Fashionista, The Imagist, Style File]

>> Just a few days after LVMH reported a decline, causing all marketing to be cut save for its top-performing brands, PPR reported a 76 percent decline in first-half profits. Tomas Maier can breathe a sigh of relief: the company's only area of growth was Bottega Veneta, on which PPR has been focusing, which saw an 8.6 percent rise in sales in the second quarter.

At flagship brand Gucci, which accounts for the bulk of Gucci Group's profits, Frida Giannini was credited by PPR chairman Francois-Henri Pinault for bolstering PPR as a whole with sustained demand for her bags in China.

As for any incoming Gucci Group brands . . . »

>> American designers, under the lead of CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg, are currently pushing for copyright inclusion under the Design Piracy Prohibition Act, but a few recent occurrences may hurt their case.

Just last week, Diane von Furstenberg settled out of court for an undisclosed sum with the Canadian designers of Mercy, who accused DVF of copying their jacket (photo comparison here), which in Diane's version appeared on the March 2009 cover of Elle.  When notified, Diane apologized almost immediately, as has since ceased from using the copied design: “While this is an isolated incident for DVF, it is unfortunate that way too many others intentionally build businesses by stealing the work of other designers."

It's doubtful that Diane was talking about Nicolas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga, but some questions are now being raised about a leather jacket from his recent Cruise 2010 collection, especially because he has admitted to copying a garment in the past that appeared in his Spring 2002 Balenciaga collection.  The current item of contention is strikingly similar to the "Parrot" jacket by San Francisco-based East West Musical Instruments — picture comparison above — which operated in the '60s through the '80s and sold to Iggy Pop, Janis Joplin, and the like.  It's no secret that designers mine vintage pieces for inspiration, and Nicolas is not an American designer, but two examples in such quick succession can't be helping the Design Piracy Prohibition Act fight.

>> Carine Roitfeld speaks frequently through the images she creates for Vogue Paris, but the new, erotic-themed issue of Acne Paper provides us with a fly-on-the-wall spot at a candid conversation with the editor.

The woman who will "never wear miniskirts because they make me look older" talks pushing limits — "Never before in Conde Nast's history has there been a transvestite on the cover, and [Andre J.'s cover] sold so well. You think you are going to get into trouble but in the end people are more open than you think" — and dressing demure — "it's always subtle."

But even Carine aspires to be somebody else.

You know the idea of the Saint Laurent woman. What a dream she was: wearing trousers, hand in the pocket, no handbag, transparent shirt. I love that woman. It is exactly who I would have loved to be if I could choose. So I would have to go blonde because he loved the blondes, and I would have to have bigger breasts. But it's the idea of the woman I love, and I try to repeat this in my magazine.

"Jeans are for my assistants." »

>> 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]

>> Just yesterday we were talking about the general direction of Fall 2009 ad campaigns and who might be the lucky girls, and already we've got some more concrete rumors.   

First up, a surprise: Balenciaga is not one of the major brands to go with a single girl that was mentioned yesterday — instead, they're going with a group — of celebrities, at that — lensed by Steven Meisel.  In the past seasons, Nicholas Ghesquiere has used Charlotte Gainsbourg and Jennifer Connelly — will they reprise their roles, or is he going with an entirely new look?  I'm leaning toward the latter.

As for Calvin Klein, Francisco Costa is rumored to have chosen Monika "Jac" Jagaciak, one of the standout faces of the season, for the main Collection campaign — as an exclusive, just as he did with Anna Selezneva for Spring 2009. And it seems Stefano Pilati is continuing his super obsession at Yves Saint Laurent — past seasons have seen Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, and Kate Moss was just photographed for an upcoming fragrance.  Now, Christy Turlington is rumored to have been shot for Fall 2009.
*image: source

>> In anticipation of her television debut on MTV's House of Style this weekend (more details here), we snagged Chanel Iman for a few minutes to chat about how she landed the coveted role of show correspondent (first peek at her in the show, left), her recent coup on the runway at Balenciaga, and about how she might have already landed a date to this year's Costume Institute Gala.  It also sounds like she has a career switch in mind — but Chanel will tell you all about it herself.

How did your role on House of Style come about?

Well basically, they called my agency, I went in to meet with them, I did an audition with all the rest of the girls, and they called — I was waiting for the phone call, I was hoping I got it — but I was waiting for about three months.  And when I got back from Paris — I was in Paris for ready-to-wear and did the whole fashion tour for Fashion Week — they told me I got it. I was really excited because it's just another way for me to express myself!

Tell me a little bit about your upcoming Gossip Girl appearance.

It's just experience — it was just for me to get an idea of what it would be like to be on set, to really see what happens since I've never been on a set before.

Are you looking for more TV appearances in the future then?

Yeah.  I'm kind of slowing down on the modeling right now and I'm branching out to other experiences and interests that I have. [Ed. note: She told Teen Vogue: "House of Style is definitely just the start. I want to do television, film, music and designing. I want to do it all!"]

Now about that Costume Institute Gala date . . . »