>> Alice Dellal may have been a special guest at Alexander Wang, but she was there in spirit at Proenza Schouler — the sideswept wavy hair, red lip, leathers, zippers, and crop tops shown were all reminiscent of her look. She may have been a starting point, but the collection had a downtown refinement that you would never seen in Alice — she revels too much in the grunge. All I have to say is: So many fun, billowy jumpsuits, so little time. And don't forget to check out the accessories — they're part of Jack and Lazaro's first full season effort.

To get the full experience, check out the runway video at Elle.com.
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>> The third time was the charm for Costello Tagliapietra yesterday — after starting and stopping the runway music two times, the second of which included dimming the lights, the show finally got under way for the third and final time an hour after its scheduled start. Lucky for Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra, their designs made it worth the wait.

Their tailored lady got some edge, courtesy of Philip Crangi's black leather accessories and an airbrushed-on tattoo . Each girl sported a blue anchor with her initials under it, Miu Miu Fall 2008-style, to match the designers' own anchor and initial tattoos, and Christina Kruse got to show off the big cobra tattooed on her arm. An unconventional fabric choice — ultrasuede — gave a matte contrast to all the shiny charmeuse, and unexpected color combinations gave a real zing to the lineup. The only major problem came from the shoes, made by Giuseppe Zanotti for the show — a lot of girls had trouble navigating them, and Georgina Stojilkovic came close to falling.

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>> For all the spectacle that was couture week, with John Galliano's voluminous transparency, Alessandra Facchinetti's debut for Valentino couture, and Christian Lacroix's buggy beauties, let us not forget the red carpet-ready Atelier Versace. Donatella may choose to show off her latest pleated, ruffled, and printed gowns by appointment only, but that doesn't mean we don't get to have a look later. Enjoy the collection, as modeled by Georgina Stojilkovic, complete with Donatella's sketches.
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>> If Frida Giannini is aiming for her Gucci customer to be one Rachel Zoe, nothing says it stronger than the flowy printed maxi dresses and one-shouldered bohemian blouses that she sent out as Gucci's Resort 2009 collection. 

Shown in Rome to celebrate the brand's 70th anniversary and a re-opening flagship, the collection will surely please those who hanker for a Hermes scarf-like minidress or a pair of fringed espadrille wedges.  Guests who were left waiting for their rides to the show venue, however, were less impressed, remarking that if Tom Ford were still at Gucci, the cars wouldn't have been late, and the drivers would have been handsome and topless . . .

A video of the show can be seen here.
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>> Jean Paul Gaultier was high energy yesterday at his Fall 2008 Couture show, exuberantly explaining his choice of outfit to Hilary Alexander pre-show, and running through the fluorescent green laser beams that panned the runway post-show, poking Coco Rocha on the way. 

For all of JPG's exuberance, I am less than excited about this sci-fi, cage-inspired outing.  Underneath all the decoration were a few solid pieces, namely a coral lace-like cage dress worn by Patricia Schmid and a tux suit worn by Sasha Pivovarova, but for the most part, a lot of it ended up looking less than luxe, especially if croc was involved. 
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>> Transparency is still the word, in John Galliano's mind.  The beanie-sporting designer had Lisa Fonssagrives, wife to Irving Penn and oft-credited as the first supermodel, in mind when producing his typical voluminous dresses, but with layers of light chiffon, rather than the heavier, stiffer fabrics Christian Dior couture has boasted in recent seasons. 

Frequent collaborator Stephen Jones, meanwhile, looked to Eduardo Garcia Benito, famous for his '20s Vogue cover illustrations of women in cloches, when creating the accompanying skull cap-cum-cloches.

Peplums were aplenty and Galliano couldn't help himself, sneaking a little leopard print into the bunch.  But the unifying thought with this collection seems to be: What will we see on newfound Dior client Carla Bruni-Sarkozy first?
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