>> Lara Stone readily admits that she can't walk in heels, and she wasn't kidding.  Although she handled them just fine for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, she appeared at the after-party wearing flips flops, her ankle wrapped, which seems to verify the rumors last week that she had trouble wearing the Nicholas Kirkwood for Rodarte heels at an editorial shoot and had to go to the emergency room because of an accident.

*image: source

>> INSIDER WIRE —Julia Restoin-Roitfeld spent her 28th birthday earlier this week in Barcelona, shooting the Mango spring catalog with her brother Vladimir, but they joined parents Carine Roitfeld and Christian Restoin, Giovanna Battaglia, and Lara Stone last night at Indochine in New York.  Sounds like Lara isn't doing the VS Fashion Show, after all . . . [Chic Report, Chic Report]

*image: source

>> Victoria's Secret may not have the cachet of say, Balenciaga, but it can make a model a millionaire.  Although the lingerie company is currently taking heat for its rash-causing bras, its event of the year — the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show — is still on schedule for taping in Miami Saturday night.

The Angels — Heidi Klum, Alessandro Ambrosio, Selita Ebanks, Doutzen Kroes, Miranda Kerr, Karolina Kurkova, Adriana Lima, Marisa Miller — will all be there, but more pressing: Who are the unnamed 30 models who have also been cast for the show? 

Fittings have been going on for the past week at least, and yet no names have leaked — the closest to a hint is this photo, above, of what appears to be Lara Stone in a Victoria's Secret outfit.  She's not your typical VS model, but the possibility of a multimillion dollar contract in the future is enough to make any model try something new.
*image: source

>> ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL —Fall 2008 campaigns brought a wave of supermodels and for Spring 2009, at least one brand isn't over the nineties girls yet: Ana Claudia Michels, who opened the Givenchy show earlier this month, is jetting into New York to shoot the brand's campaign with Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin tomorrow.  No word as to whether it's an only girl campaign, but if so, I'm sorry to see Riccardo Tisci's favorite Mariacarla Boscono go. [RG Vogue]

UPDATE: Mariacarla Boscono, Lara Stone, and Lakshmi Menon are said to be joining Ana Claudia at the shoot. [TFS]

>> Lara Stone is known for baring her breasts in most of her editorial spreads, inciting fanaticism in some and eliciting scoffs from others, but as she tells i-D in the November 2008 issue, she's tired of all the commotion: "Will you stop asking me questions about my tits?  Oops sorry, but the world seems rather obsessed with them . . ."  She graces the cover of the magazine, all chiseled cheeks, gap teeth and bleached eyebrows — no breasts in sight — but when the accompanying tagline reads, "Yes, I think I'm sexy," what does she expect?

The world's obsession started when Lara was young.

My mother tells me of when I was 10 or 11 and I would wear really tight, short skirts and crop tops. All the local men would wolf whistle and stop and stare, but I didn't realize why at the time.

But her mother did . . . and she wasn't sure what to do about it.

The first time she saw me naked she sent this whole long big email, that was sooo sweet. She had seen the pictures from Purple by Inez and Vinoodh of me, butt naked, in the studio. She was like 'Lara, if you don't want to do this, you can just say no, you can always move back home with us'. She's so sweet.

Catwalk falls, more nudity, and Lara the librarian . . . »

>> ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL — In a time when everyone seems to be focused on black and white, let's take a moment for Lakshmi Menon.  The Bangalorean model appeared in the beautiful Spring 2008 Hermes ads, opened the Givenchy couture show yesterday, and is appearing in the Fall 2008 Givenchy campaign along with Kirsten Owen, Natasha Poly, and Givenchy faves Lara Stone and Mariacarla Boscono. [Vogue UK, Models.com]