>> Some thought that Vogue Paris's August 2009 cover with Daria Werbowy all decked out in Burberry check looked too blatantly like an advertisement, but in the context of Inez van Lamweerde and Vinoodh Matadin's 65-page accompanying editorial inside — with a plethora of models, each embodying a different brand's identity — it all makes sense.  

It's a few of the magazine's usual suspects — Anja Rubik doing Gucci's "glam star" in fauxhawk, Kamila Filipcikova striking an eyepopping McQueen silhouette — plus a few new faces like Regina Feoktistova and Ranya Mordanova in Gianfranco Ferre and Junya Watanabe, respectively.  The trifecta of stylists that produced these images — Joe McKenna, Emmanuelle Alt, Carine Roitfeld — prove that there is creativity to be found within the bounds of a studio shoot, after all.

Full editorial here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; gallery below NSFW.

>> A number of designers are sticking very close to ideas from seasons past for the Fall 2009 round of ad campaigns — Louis Vuitton went for Madonna "Part Deux," Versace's set features the same model — Gisele Bundchen — doing the same pose she did for the house's Spring 2008 ads, and now Donna Karan, who decided last season to save money by taking her runway photography and reinterpreting it for the ads, is using the same tactic this season.

The set of Fall 2009 ads that appear on the front page of Karan's website all feature Toni Garrn, one in the look she wore down the runway. In the other two ads, it appears that Toni's head was Photoshopped onto the bodies of Anya Kazakova and Sasha Pivovarova — the stances on both bodies are identical to those in the runway photos of the collection on the website.

>> Jean Paul Gaultier's Fall 2009 couture show was a spectacle — pre-show, Sasha Pivovarova sketched backstage, free Magnums and ice cream bars were handed out to help stifle the heat (Jean Paul even ate one as he took his bow).  But that was just the beginning: Mickey Rourke never even made it to his front row seat due to the paparazzi scrum, instead taking in the show from the fifth row.

Gaultier drew inspiration from Old Hollywood — the seating was divided into old movie studios; models — including Erin O'Connor — were made up as Joan Crawford, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Catherine Deneuve, Greta Garbo; and the dresses were based on iconic movies like Barbarella, Belle de Jour, African Queen, Anna Karenina, and A Star is Born. For the finale, the bride appeared against a backdrop of famous Hollywood faces, with each one in turn projected onto her face.

>> For Fall 2009, Maison Michel, whose art director Laetitia Crahay doubles as Chanel's accessories designer, asked her other boss Karl Lagerfeld to photograph the milliner's lookbook.  The result is a veritable list of Chanel favorites — Karl's muse Lady Amanda Harlech, Chanel face Heidi Mount, Karl's male model favorite of the moment Baptiste Giabiconi — and plenty of other models including Lara Stone, Angela Lindvall, Sasha Pivovarova, Erin Wasson, plus surprise appearances by Olivier Theyskens and Crahay herself, all donning the latest in Maison Michel's headgear. 

>> Artist Cedric Rivrain's first solo exhibition exhibition, Drawings, was curated by Martine Sitbon and just wrapped a few days ago in Paris, but based on his portfolio, it won't be his last. He's sketched for the likes of John Galliano, Tokion, Numéro, A magazine, and Dazed and Confused, and has a tendency to pair models (like Sasha Pivovarova, Kate Moss, Anabela Belikova) and designer clothes (from Balenciaga, Prada, Margiela) with band-aids. “Bandages are kind of jewelry and can be as ornamental as a garment,” he recently told Style.com.

Gallery of his work, below, is NSFW.

>> While Gemma Ward is still missing from the fashion scene — instead, she's DJing this Thursday in New York — but some of her compatriots are making a return to the influential editorial fold after lengthy breaks, courtesy of the May 2009 Vogue Italia.

Irina Lazareanu, who has been in full-on hiatus mode, skipping both the Spring 2009 and Fall 2009 runways save for a couple of turns during couture in January, is back in Miles Aldridge's technicolored "Dreamy."  And Suvi Koponen, who skipped the Fall 2009 runways to travel the world, returns to major editorial ground showcasing what she does best — pose — in Richard Burbridge's "A Summer Blend."  Not to mention Sasha Pivovarova's return to Vogue Italia cover territory, Moroccan-style.
*image: source

>> Rick Owens traded in his Spring 2009 nuns for Fall 2009 swans, with feather headbands and ice queen pastels intermixed into his usual black palette.  Apparently, a good number of the models showed up backstage — including Sasha Pivovarova, who teasingly complained about her jacket causing people to touch her — wearing at least one Rick piece, a testament to his fashion following; another testament: Anna Wintour chose his show as the last to which 60 Minutes's Morley Safer would accompany her.  But when you've got jackets and boots like these, what do you expect?
*image: source