>> Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been quick with the Internet recently: They just launched e-commerce and uploaded both Fall 2009 Dolce & Gabbana and D&G campaigns over the weekend.  The former, shot by Steven Klein, features Mariacarla Boscono, Edita Vilkeviciute, and Heidi Mount — who in one shot takes a simian pose — at a casino, and the latter, shot by Mario Testino, features a younger group: Katie Fogarty, Sara Blomqvist, Stephanie Rad, Hanna Rundolf, and Ragnhild Jevne.

>> While Calvin Klein is sticking to Eva Mendes for their Fall 2009 Underwear ads — and giving her the Calvin Klein Jeans campaign as well — they're switching it up for the rest of the cadre. Jourdan Dunn and Sigrid Agren paired up for the CK Calvin Klein set by Craig McDean, who also photographed the Calvin Klein campaign with Jamie Dornan and Edita Vilkeviciute. And the Calvin Klein Collection set was done by David Sims with brand exclusive Monica "Jac" Jagaciak, who opened and closed the brand's Fall 2009 show.  Get used to these images — they're appearing on 1,080 pages globally.

>> Rag & Bone always attracts the legions — last season there was enough trouble filing in when the show space was the vast Pier 94; this season, the crowd had to push and shove their way through the two small double doors of Cedar Lake Ballet Theater, and a number of people who were supposed to have seats were forced to stand.  While the rest of us were bumped and budged, immobile, Julia Restoin Roitfeld knew how to conquer the immovable best — just after she waved hello to Genevieve Jones, a tall, modelesque man parted the crowd with an "Excuse me, I'm late for the show."  Presumably, everyone assumed he was a model trying to get backstage fifteen minutes after the show was scheduled to start.  Julia saw him and latched onto his elbow with a "Hey, Zack, I'm going to use you as an excuse to get through."  And with that, she was in — the rest of us still in the same place.  Turns out, the guy wasn't even in the show.

But Edita Vilkeviciute was, and Isabeli Fontana — who closed — Diana Farkhullina and Sigrid Agren — all new faces, in addition to Rag & Bone perennial favorites like Coco Rocha, Lily Donaldson, Sasha Pivovarova, Jessica Stam, and Julia Stegner.  The label's usual palette of navy, black, and gray was in place, with some unexpected pops of red in a flower brooch here, in an obi belt there.  Marcus Wainwright and David Neville worked with a different stylist this season — Tabitha Simmons — and she helped them take it to a new level — the chain mail detailing on a hem or peeking out under a jacket was an especially unique touch.
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>> Natalia Vodianova has been chatting up her collaboration with Etam for a while — and last night, the French lingerie company shelled out for their newly-signed three year ambassador, staging a full-blown show at the Ritz in Paris that drew the likes of Eva Herzigova, Emmanuelle Alt, and Charlotte Casiraghi in the front row and Edita Vilkeviciute, Sigrid Agren, Flavia Oliveira, and Sessilee Lopez on the runway.  Natalia pour Etam, which encompasses swimwear and lingerie, including a silk nightgown inspired by one in Natalia's own wardrobe, runs $20-$80 and hits stores in April.  The line will be reoccurring, with Natalia designing a new collection every season over the period of her ambassadorship.
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>> Tom Ford is currently filming his directorial debut, and Wednesday, Karl Lagerfeld will show his own directorial debut, based on Coco Chanel's early years.  Unlike Tom's feature film, Karl's film is only ten minutes — a length more fitting to kick off the showing of Chanel's Paris-Moscow collection in Paris.  The presentation was originally supposed to take place in Moscow, but Karl changed his mind after Russian customs "wanted to have the clothes three weeks in advance, which means we wouldn't have been ready and the situation seemed risky, so we cancelled."

Shot in a Paris studio in two days, Karl's film is inspired by Mack Sennett's flickering black-and-white silent slapstick movies with "spliced in newsreel footage of WWI because I think it's interesting to juxtapose fashion with the horrible images of the trenches."  Rather than cast extras — "they don't know how to touch the clothes" — Karl looked within his own posse to fill positions — muse Amanda Harlech and daughter Tallulah Ormsby-Gore as customer and model, Brad Kroenig as Chanel lover Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, and bodyguard Sebastien Jondeau as a Russian general.  For the role of Chanel, Karl went with Lithuanian model Edita Vilkeviciute — in character in the film stills below.
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>> After weeks of speculation, we got our answers.  As rumored, Izabel Goulart is no longer a Victoria's Secret Angel — there is speculation that she broke her contract to work for Emporio Armani and Armani Exchange — but she, along with the Angels and 26 other non-Angel models, taped the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Miami on Saturday.  There were a few casting surprises — no Asian models?; some disappointments — no Natasha Poly or Jessica Stam; and lots of newcomers — Arlenis Sosa Pena, Sarah Stephens, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Sessilee Lopez, Clara Alonso, Edita Vilkeviciute, Erin Heatherton, and even Lara Stone made it after all.  Broken glass catwalk aside, Maryna Linchuk had a stellar outing — many have their bets on a Angel contract for her in the future — and Doutzen Kroes cozied up to boyfriend DJ Ruckus at the after-party.  All in all, enough party to hold us over until the show airs Dec. 3.        
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>> Phillip Lim created the mascot skirt of Fashion Week earlier this year — not kidding, I've seen it on at least one person every day this week — and if the attendance to his newest collection's presentation is any indication, Spring 2009 will be smooth sailing for 3.1 Phillip Lim — the Tent was packed to the gills with fans, including friends Richard Chai and Irina Lazareanu, both sitting front row.

Christian Louboutin designed ruffled heels for the collection, eliciting covetousness in many — in fact, the whole Spring 2009 season is about ruffles for Phillip.  The treatment in some of the dresses and skirts reminded me of a tamed version of Marc Jacobs's Spring 2007 ruffles, but among the hazy smoke that hovered on the runway, the real standouts emerged — the stiff, open-edged zipper pieces, and the jewelry Eddie Borgo made for the occasion.
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