Heidi Klum and her post-baby body led the parade at the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show, which returned to New York with some fresh faces after four years on the road. The lingerie retailer inducted five more women into its “Angel” ranks — a designation reserved for top models — in front of a packed house Thursday night at the Lexington Avenue Armory. They are Emanuela de Paula, Chanel Iman, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Lindsay Ellingson and Candice Swanepoel. But Klum, who gave birth to a daughter five weeks ago, was the audience favorite in her purple corset covered with a half gown with poufs of tulle. She emerged from the huge, castlelike set to applause. Musical guest The Black Eyed Peas — especially Fergie, its only female member, who wore a black, jeweled bodysuit — was another crowd-pleaser. She came out later in a green corset gown. Of course, fashion really is secondary here. Victoria’s Secret always puts on an elaborate production (this time with a choir, acrobatic dancers and a giant polka-dot dog balloon) and fuels hype about its models. An online model search started earlier this month and is now down to two contestants, one of whom will be chosen by the public to appear in the televised version of the fashion show that CBS will air Dec. 1. “I could watch this online, but it’s a fun scene,” said Russell Simmons from his front row seat. “This show is always fun and a great production.” “It’s always a spectacular,” agreed costume designer Patricia Field. “Victoria’s Secret does that extra thing I like.” Klum, who normally wears the most elaborate outfits, only appeared once so it was former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover girl Marissa Miller who had the honor of wearing a $3 million, diamond-encrusted bra. Splashy jewels, it seemed, were one of the themes of the show with many models dripping in diamonds, crystals and other bling — while others wore faux fur stoles over their bras and panties. Thigh-high boots were the other must-have accessory. Outfits fell into one of four themes: Star Trooper with breast plates and body armor; Pink Planet, which had a hippie vibe; the ethereal Enchanted Forest; and Romantic Journey that featured a lot of lace. Compared to previous years, the overall collection didn’t seem as skimpy, although Miranda Kerr wore an itsy-bitsy black thong get-up that might have to be edited out of the TV show.

Altho these VS fashion shows aren’t really my thing, I can’t believe how much I enjoy watching them year after year … I think it’s all the fun colors and feathers. And, to be honest, even I can appreciate how insanely hawt all of the VS Angels are … this is really a very fun show. I’m so glad that Heidi was up to walking the runway this year, especially after giving birth just about a month ago. The woman looked fantastic, as always. I can’t wait to see this show when it airs on CBS next month.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; Source]

The namesake and founder of Emanuel Ungaro has added his voice to the chorus of critics attacking Lindsay Lohan’s debut for the famed fashion house at its spring/summer 2010 show. “[Her] collaboration was a disaster,” Ungaro told the U.K.’s Independent of Lohan’s first efforts as artistic adviser alongside designer Estrella Archs. “I am furious but I can’t do anything about it.” The designer, who retired in 2004, said he worried that his former line was “in the process of losing its soul.” Emanuel further lamented that the problems weren’t just at his own line. “This happens to a lot of designers, we were the creators and patrons, responsible for the creation and destiny of our houses. But when we gave up our houses, we gave up our soul,” he said.

Ugh … well, at least Ungaro can look on the bright side — he’s not alone in asserting that Lindsay’s Fashion debut was a disaster … unfortch for him, tho, he no longer has a say in what goes on at his namesake company. Poor thing.

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

There were a few celebs in attendance last night, including party host Neil Patrick Harris … who I finally got to meet last night :) After the jump, check out my pic with NPH and find out who else was at the shindig last night …

Now, I’ve been a huge Neil Patrick Harris fan for years so I was thrilled to finally get to meet him last night. While he played host, folks like Kellen Lutz, Gilles Marini and others (um, Ron Moss from The Bold and the Beautiful lookin’ like he walked in off the street from 1987) were in attendance to party … and shop. David and I also ran into new friends Emma and Josh who we first met at Alyson and Alexis’s Hallowe’en party on Saturday night. Here are a couple of fun Polaroids with NPH and our new friends Emma and Josh:

NPH was really cool and David and I got to chat with his boyfriend David Burtka as well. It was a really fun night … mostly because we got to spend more time with Emma and Josh. Unfortch, I was too bizzy socializing to do any shopping (boo!) but David and I did have a great time nonetheless :)

Tonight, David and I will be attending the LA premiere of the new film Dare which stars Emmy Rossum and Zach Gilford. Dare was written by our friend David Brind so we are really excited to see the movie. Should be another fun night in Hollywood :)

Man, she is really running with this 80’s look she’s got goin’ on. No lie, she looks like she fell right out of a Whitesnake music video. But wait, there is more to behold. After the jump, check out a few more photos from the 6126 Spring ‘10 promo ad campaign …

OY! For someone who claims to love Fashion so much, L. Lo is sure doing her damnedest to ruin Fashion. First, there was Lindsay’s fiasco with Ungaro at Paris Fashion Week and now this … when will it all end? If you also consider that her mother Dina Lohan is also meddling in Fashion affairs where she doesn’t belong, well, you see the problem. I dunno know who the target audience is for this line of leggings but I’m sure it’s out there … somewhere … desperate for a pair of these leggings. Tawny Kitaen, I’m lookin’ in your general direction ;)

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Nicole Richie has a new baby and a new contemporary women’s clothing line. The label, Winter Kate, which will debut in spring, expands a fashion business that already includes the accessories line House of Harlow 1960 and a maternity collection, Nicole for A Pea in the Pod. The 37-piece Winter Kate line, which takes her daughter Harlow’s two middle names, will hit stores such as Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Ron Herman, Intermix and Kitson, beginning in February. “It feels as though I’ve always been working on this collection, but officially I started putting it together in early 2009,” said Richie, who is lying low at home after the birth last month of her son, Sparrow. “I’ve wanted to design a clothing collection for a very long time.” Richie, who has become known for her eclectic bohemian style with a Sixties and Seventies flair, said she has torn fashion pages out of magazines for years and also draws inspiration from her favorite animals, including peacocks and other birds. The line includes mostly tops, vests and bed jackets in colorful vintage-inspired silk, crepe and chiffon because these tops are a mainstay of Richie’s own wardrobe. “I probably wear the same two pairs of jeans every day as the background to a fabulous top,” she said. “Bed jackets are a staple of my wardrobe because they are a gorgeous way to give jeans and a white T-shirt a completely different look.” Also key for spring dressing are “definitely a beautiful, fun slip dress in a great print and also a leather jacket to turn the romantic day dress into an edgy night-out outfit,” Richie said. Her collection includes long slip dresses, asymmetrical short dresses, tunics and a kimono-sleeved, maxidress, which are meant to be layered with vests in cotton macramé, suede or silk, or a shrunken leather jacket. “I purposely made the slip dresses in both solids and prints,” Richie said. “Wear the prints by themselves or with a great vest or jacket and wear the solids as basics to an outfit with many layers.” Priced from $35 wholesale for a camisole to $110 for a long kimono dress, and as much as $598 for the leather pieces, the line is positioned similarly to her accessory collection, which now includes shoes for spring. “Fashion should be accessible,” Richie said. “That was my philosophy when designing House of Harlow 1960 and it remains my philosophy for Winter Kate.” Both lines, she noted, are aimed at the same customer. “She is a woman like me: She does not look at labels; she knows how to mix and match. The pieces can be dressed up, made casual, but most importantly, they provide the wearer a means of self-expression and fun.”

Now, I know what you’re thinkin’ … Does the world really need another celeb-designed fashion line? … and you’re prolly right, it doesn’t … but it’s clear that Nicole is working really hard to express herself creatively with these new product lines and she is finding inspiration in her daughter Harlow Winter Kate. You can’t really blame the woman for wanting to create these products when she has such adorable inspiration leading her on … even if the clothes do look a bit like they came from the House of Zbornak (or at least from Dorothy’s closet):

Whether or not this new line will be a success remains to be seen but it’s evident to me that Nicole’s new life as a mom has really given her the push to expand her creative horizons. I wish her the best of luck … mebbe one day she’ll be able to hand the reigns of her fashion empire to Harlow when the time is right.

[Source, thanks Jo]

The word “fierce” seems to be the prevailing theme of these photographs of half-nekkid men. If you, like me, miss the days of yore when Abercrombie would sell their A&F catalog then I’m sure that you, like me, can appreciate that photos that might’ve appeared in the catalog (if it were still in publication) tend to pop up on the official A&F website. These photos tend to be released more prominently ahead of the holidays. Yes, Xmas comes early this year. After the jump, check out a bunch more photos of these hawt half-nekkid A&F models …

While a few photos on a website cannot take the place of a thick catalog of photographs, I have to say that something is better than nothing. I’m pretty certain that Abercrombie & Fitch has no plans to resurrect their catalog here in the US so this is prolly all we’re gonna get … so enjoy … I know I will ;)

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Chances are you never saw Twilight, because chances are you’re not a 15-year-old girl (or her mom). But here’s the thing about the blockbuster and its sequel, New Moon—and for that matter, all the yet-to-come films in the teen-vampire series: They feature Taylor Lautner, a 17-year-old kid who is one of the luckiest actors in Hollywood. Two years ago, he was an unknown with credits in flicks like Cheaper by the Dozen 2. But then he landed a small part in Twilight, a movie based on a book he’d never heard of. He had four scenes, a few lines in each, and looked like a scrawny kid in a big movie. Then something happened that Lautner didn’t see coming. He nearly lost his job. The studio didn’t believe he had the stones (or the bulk) to play a convincing boy-turned-werewolf-turned-romantic-lead in the sequel. “They needed to understand he had that aggression,” says director Chris Weitz (who, by the way, made a film you did see, About a Boy). So Lautner hit the gym, hard, eating every two hours, packing on thirty pounds. “I tried to stay focused on the things I could control,” he says. Well done. Lautner kept his job, and the film’s entire marketing campaign was built around his new abs. “When a man transforms into a wolf,” Lautner clarifies, “all of his clothes get shredded. When he comes back to human form, he’s wearing ripped jeans, and that’s about it. It’s the way it was written. The great thing about this series is we stay true to the books.” Ah, to be 17.

HMMM … isn’t it cute that Taylor’s Twilight character, Jacob Black, has prolly never worn a fitted dress shirt in his entire fictional life and, yet, Taylor was chosen to model these shirts for a major men’s fashion magazine. I wonder why that is. Oh yes, prolly because the young guy is überhawt. After the jump, check out 8 more photos of Taylor in the new issue of GQ — including one photo where he is showing off what he’s got going on under these shirts …

I think these photos are really great mainly because Taylor injects so much personality into his facial expressions (the fact that he showed some skin doesn’t hurt either). I really don’t like the expressionless, pouty photos … the ones where he looks like he’s having fun are the best photos, I think. It’s a great shoot, yes? What do y’all think?

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Now, I’m not sure what the purpose of having a red carpet at an event like this is but they did have one … so that Dina could walk on it as she arrived for her own shoe launch … which was attended by, well, Dina and … a bunch of photographers paid to be there. Dina was really rockin’ the crazy eyes at yesterday’s launch event … she was even lookin’ a bit more crazy-eyed than Ramona Singer from The Real Housewives of New York City. Absent the fact that I’m not the biggest Dina Lohan fan, I don’t really have much faith that this shoe line will do well. The Lohans seem to have a toxic touch with everything they endeavor to accomplish … from raising kids to sustaining a viable acting career … they don’t seem to really know what they are doing. I suppose it’s possible that Shoe-Han might sell a few pairs but I wouldn’t count on it. We’ll prolly be seeing this footwear on the streetwalkers of Hollywood Blvd. in the very near future … Ah ha! That must be the target consumer!

[Photo credit: Wireimage]

Not one to be outdone by loopy daughter Lindsay’s nipple pasties for Emmanuel Ungaro, Dina Lohan says she’s a designer, too! Mama L. will unveil her new “celebrity” shoe line creatively dubbed “Shoe-Han” at Trump Plaza today. What’s more, the failed reality star has been named national spokesmodel, with radio and TV gigs, for lovemyshoes.com, the Web site where Dina will sell her soles. News of the fancy footwear deal comes two days after LiLo, in her Paris runway debut as Ungaro’s “artistic adviser,” got shredded by aghast fashion writers for sending models down the catwalk sporting sparkly, heart-shaped nipple pasties.

I don’t know about you but I can’t think of anything tackier than a line of shoes called Shoe-Han which come from a line created by Dina Lohan. Who in HELL would want to wear such atrocities on their feet? As ghastly as this idea sounds, I can’t help but admit that I kinda want to see what these damn things will look like. I think I already know the answer but … would any of y’all be interested in wearing shoes by Shoe-Han?

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One might think it odd for a man to require front row seating at a Chanel fashion show (especially since it is well known that Chanel doesn’t make menswear but Prince just ain’t any man. If you consider the fact that Prince likes to wear women’s clothing and he is actually the size of a standard Chanel model, it makes perfect sense. Prince has always had a flair for the fashionable … I guess he’s just shopping for outfits to wear next Spring ;)

[Photo credit: Splash News]