>> Last year, Jessica Stam had an East Village apartment and no decorator — all her books were still in boxes.  This year, she has a decorator who convinced her to move apartments — the last one had "no view, no charm, and insufficient space" — and now has a new apartment a few blocks over, full of purple, flowers, and with a look "like Indiana Jones had designed a Marriott."  I'm not sure if that's good or not, but the October 2008 issue of Elle Decor has a full look inside, so you can decide yourself.  She must have liked it; The same decorator is now working on her East Hampton home.
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>> Those Spring 2009 Prada shoes are treacherous. This morning, Russian newcomer Yulia Kharlapanova opened at Jil Sander — and was heralded as "Milan's first star."  But just as fast as doors can open, they can also close; Later on in the day, Yulia stumbled and fell at Prada.  Ouch — of all runways, Prada is not one you want to fall on — it is perhaps the most singularly watched for casting choices and new modelling stars in the making.  A little condolence, Yulia: at least Jessica Stam stumbled, too.
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>> The Tents are loaded with plenty of freebies, but these might be the cutest — to go along with Fashion Week's election theme, someone took a page out of Henry Holland's book and printed model slogan campaign buttons for Coco Rocha, Lily Donaldson, Hilary Rhoda, Ali Michael, Jessica Stam, and Agyness Deyn. Apparently, Agyness has been seen wearing Stam's around, and Stam wearing Coco's . . .  

>> For the second season in a row, Marc Jacobs started his show promptly, just ten minutes after its scheduled start — only this time, half the attendees weren't locked out — everyone had learned their lesson. "Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. The show is about to begin."

Through swinging mirror doors, the models walked the mirror-lined runway from every direction, funhouse illusions abounding. But show tactics aside, with Marc, it always comes down to the clothes — the mashed-up, layered, bangled clothes, sparkling, plaided, and sheened. As Gershwin played in the background, Marc took us in a whole new direction — and he did it while wearing a skirt.

To get the full experience, check out the runway video at Elle.com.
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>> Take working-class fashion, add a pinch of Joy Division, and you've got the inspiration David Neville and Marcus Wainwright were drawing on for their Spring 2009 collection. The Rag & Bone show changed venues this season from the upscale Cipriani to the more hard-edged Pier 94 — a change from polished to slightly edgy that you could also say was reflected in the clothes.

Black wraparound leather belts with threateningly sharp silver spikes accented so many of the looks, and are sure to be a must-have — but even the typical Rag & Bone tweedy suits were rock-n-rolled up with a leather mini, like Julia Dunstall's closing look, or a silvery silk sheen, like Jessica Stam's blazer.

The model cast was full of high notes — stalwarts like opener Sasha Pivovarova or Coco Rocha — and the coveted new girls like Aline Weber and Liu Wen. Arlenis Pena was there too: she's had a big day, between being named as the new face of Lancome and slipping up at BCBG this morning.

To get the full experience, check out the runway video at Elle.com.
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>> Designers spend an awful lot of time projecting their fantasies onto others, so the good people at Harper's Bazaar decided it was time to turn the tables for their September 2008 issue by asking ten designers to dress up as a fantasy character.  How else would you know that Karl Lagerfeld loves rap, Alber Elbaz wants to produce a James Bond spinoff movie called "Jane Bomb," and Donatella Versace wants to wake up as a princess?  Well, you might have guessed about that last one . . .
*image: source