>> BLOWING THE COVER —W Magazine is ringing in the new year with a model on the cover of their January 2009 issue — Christy Turlington — but don't expect it to be a trend.  Arianne Phillips — who just finished costuming Tom Ford's directorial debut A Single Man — is headed to Rio de Janeiro later this week to shoot an upcoming W cover with Madonna and Steven Klein.  Their last collaboration produced the iconic 2006 Equus-inspired shoot, so hopefully this round will be just as picturesque — and will probably include more Louis Vuitton. [Hint, Made in Brazil, TFS]

>> As Marc Jacobs evolved from dorky Marc to Marc the personality, he's acquired a fake tan, muscles, a new diet, over thirty tattoos . . . and apparently a new nose.  No word on when it was done, but his nose was "made broader by artificial means."  Why?  According to Marc, "I walked into a door once, and I thought it looked really hot."

As for Lorenzo Martone, Marc's current boyfriend — he doesn't have to worry about competition from Marc's ex-boyfriend Jason Preston:

"I’ve had boyfriends who were media whores, and, God bless them, they were great people.  I shouldn’t have said that; that wasn’t nice to say.  I was in a relationship for the past couple of years with someone who loved the attention of the media.  I don’t want to make the same mess again."

*image: source

>> IN PRODUCTION —We still haven't gotten a look at the sandals or the evening envelope clutch that Sofia Coppola designed for Louis Vuitton, but here's a better shot of the slouchy SC bag that comes out this Spring.  She says of designing the SC that she "definitely" didn't want it to be black — "people wear so much black that it's nice to have a bag that's a different color."  Funny, since the prototype of the bag that she posed with before was black. [T Magazine]

>> INSIDER WIRE —Karl Lagerfeld is famous for his hundreds of iPods (among other things), and he's even designed a Fendi trunk specifically for the storage of multiple iPods.  For his personal storage needs, however, he commisioned a bespoke trunk from Louis Vuitton — one that costs tens of thousands of dollars — to carry 20 iPods plus their accessories, with his initials stamped near the handle. [Luxist]

>> INSIDER WIRE —Vogue Paris's December/January issue, guest edited by Princess Stephanie of Monaco, is supposed to drop Nov. 28, and with it comes that annual treat, the calendar.  The 2009 edition was photographed by Terry Richardson and was made in collaboration with Louis Vuitton, featuring footwear and bits of lingerie from the Cruise and Spring 2009 collections.  Anna Maria Jagodzinska and Aline Weber are rumored to be inside. [WWD, TFS]

*image: source

>> ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL —Louis Vuitton doesn't appear to be hurting — word is they've shelled out $10 million for Madonna to be the face of the Spring 2009 collection, as captured by Steven Meisel.  The shoot appears to have gone down last Friday: Marc Jacobs was spotted in LA last Thursday, reports came that it all went down the next day at Cafe Figaro in LA, and Madonna was photographed Friday looking like she had just come from a photoshoot.  One thing's for sure: all those months of carrying that Richard Prince Louis Vuitton bag have paid off for Madonna big time. [Page Six]

>> INSIDER WIRE —Is Louis Vuitton reviving the iconic Stephen Sprouse graffiti bags early next year?  Samples of the originals are being called in from various magazines, and Marc Jacobs is creating a new collection for Louis Vuitton, inspired by the original 2001 Sprouse collaboration, that will coincide with a retrospective Sprouse exhibition and be available when the exhibit opens on Jan. 9, 2009. [Fashionista]