She reportedly retired from runway modeling last year, but all it took was a call from Nicholas Ghesquiere to persuade Natalia Vodianova back on to the runway for Balenciaga’s spring 2009 show.

While modeling isn’t the first thing on her mind these days, the Russian beauty is keeping her feet wet with fashion projects, like collaborating on a lingerie collection.

She told WWD that she is “also going to be collaborating for a line of lingerie with a French brand, and I hope that it will be a success.”

Question remains, which the French brand? We’d love to think it’s La Perla, Chanel, Catherine Malandrino, Balenciaga or Chantelle… but we’re happy to be surprised.

With years of experience modelling lingerie for Calvin Klein, we can’t wait to see what Natalia has to offer. As long as it doesn’t look Calvin Klein inspired.

With models sporting high quiffs, the Giambattista Valli spring 2009 fashion show at Paris Fashion Week was one for the pretty dress purists. Sexy figure numbers were sent down that would have looked stunning on perennial Valli fan, Victoria Beckham, but it was the fifties style dresses that caught my eye. Compleye with teacup circle skirts with pretty petticoats peeking through at time, they had me reminiscing about a childhood past time where I would spin and spin and spin in my fullest dresses.

But it was the final five dresses that had the fashion world talking, the floaty ethereal numbers were inspired by clouds, floating gracefully and peacefully in the sky. No doubt some stylish women will have eyed them off as potential wedding dresses.

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What separates Paris from the other Fashion Weeks? Well, in addition to the City of Lights’ rich sartorial legacy and the fact that the industry’s most iconic, directional, and envelope-pushing luxury houses present there, for Spring 2009, it is also the most likely location to catch a glimpse of the lighter, wittier side of fashion (and unlike in London, the humor is intentional). Notable cases in point include legendary left-of-center designers who have achieved two of Paris’s greatest legacies: this week, Maison Martin Margiela and Sonia Rykiel presented twistedly joyous commemorative collections; both were heavy on tongue-in-cheek and ironic connotations. Now who says fashion people take themselves too seriously?

At Maison Martin Margiela’s weird and wonderful 20th anniversary celebration, a bizarre parade of classically unidentifiable misfits donned garments reflective of the Belgian iconoclast’s most influential designs over the years. In addition to cameos from MMM’s jarringly prophetic legacy pieces (Remember the iconic white lab coat, the AIDS t-shirt, the paper-shredded frocks, and the peaked shoulder blazers of a few seasons ago? All present and accounted for), there were many ensembles whose main purpose was to tickle the funny bone. Wigs - one of Margielas favorite props - not only appeared on models’ heads (often faceforward, mind you), they appeared as epaulettes on jackets before evolving into entire garments of their own. Other offkey, comedic highlights included representations of a human “jewelry box”, spotlighted “legs” and “lips” on otherwise obscured figures, and silliest of all, the gigantic “cake” finale.

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The rest of the week will be dedicated to Paris, but below we spotlight three especially memorable collections from Spring 2009 Milan Fashion Week. Also feel free to tell us YOUR thoughts on Spring 2009 so far. Intrigued? Disappointed? Indifferent? We want to know!

JIL SANDER: Strongest Collection

Raf Simons delivered a discreetly captivative collection that smartly reinvented Jil Sander’s Teutonic hard/soft dynamic. Finding seasonal boundaries irrelevant, Simons focused on tailored cohesion, while nobly exploring the conceptual and functional value of that fickle decorative standard, fringe. He proved that it can be dynamic: spectacular, diagnonally draped columns unexpectedly gave new possibilities to shifts and full-length eveningwear. Worn over pantherine bodysuits, Simons used fringe to create elegant textural drama; as the sole, swingy “fabric” of cutaway shifts, it served as this season’s Lace, raising both eyebrows and the bar on the mindful exposability of textiles. Even fringe delegated as a standard trimming showcased an exciting experiment in color contrast, length, and illusion.

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Vivienne Westwood is one impressive Dame, at 67 she has a very successful fashion house, just released a music album, and now could see her life on the big screen with another talented British woman acting out her life in an upcoming biopic.

If rumors are true, Kate Winslet is in line to play Westwood from the 1970s to the present day - some of Westwood’s most influential years in fashion.

This juicy bit of gossip reportedly came from the mouth of Carlo D’Amario, Westwood’s Managing Director, at her Gold Label fashion show last night in Paris with Universal Pictures set to produce the film.

Now, can you just imagine Winslet as Westwood telling us in the 1980s to “Take your mother’s old brassiere and wear it undisguised over your school jumper and have a muddy face” then later flash the people at Buckingham Palace?

Saucy.

Though it was only a year ago when Kristen Dunst was rumored to play Westwood, so will this biopic ever happen?

Getting celebrities to wear your designer pieces can often mean said piece is a hit, complete with waiting lists from here to the moon.

Though sometimes, celebrity loans may never come back, or come back damaged.

Take Amy Winehouse for example, the bee-hived singer was loaned £25,000 worth of silk and satin designer dresses by Harvey Nichols to wear during London Fashion Week.

A source told the Mirror that: “While wearing one of the frocks, she went on an all-night bender. She ended up in the loos, where she was violently sick. Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.”

When she (or her assistant) eventually got around to returning the designer pieces the vomit had started to grow “green, furry mould”, and thanks to the dresses being return as one big package instead of wrapped separately, the mould spread.

Harvey Nichols were reportedly furious and have demanded that the full value of the outfits.

Hasn’t Amy heard of the dry cleaners? Let’s just hope if Amy ever does design clothes… let’s not even continue with that though.

Once upon a time, budget brands and high-street imitators simply chose to knock-off popular high-end goods that were easily reproducable. Classic example: as Louboutin’s red soles proved ubiquitous, it became a pinch to replicate that feature without jeopardizing the overall integrity of the designer’s creation. To avoid lawsuits, it’s always been safest to stick with proven, universal, non-esoteric designs to mimic. Generally, impersonators follow still this protocol. But we have stumbled upon a highly impeachable exception.

Givenchy’s wild Fall 2008 creation, the “Up the Leg Gladiator Sandal”, which retails for just under $1,800, is fetishistic and fantastic. Surely a such marvel in luxury footwear is inimitable, right? Incorrect. Unbelievably, one plucky company already has had the audacity to copy this shoe at a fraction of the price.

Can you guess which shoe pictured above is Givenchy’s original and which is a knock-off?
Before seeing the answer below, tell us your gut instinct!

Ready to know the truth?
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Prada perplexed. Marni went Prada. Dolce & Gabbana went demicouture. Ah, just as swiftly as the hairpin turns unfolded, Milan Spring 2009 already draws to its close. As we sit and hold tight for Paris to blow our minds, we recap some highlights from Milan. Don’t forget to check back over the weekend as we wax rhapsodic over Jil Sander, Pollini, and even Versace!

Below we spotlight five Milan shows. Enjoy!

Bottega Venneta: As always, Tomas Maier imparted masterful restraint into his Spring 2009 collection for the thinking person’s Italian luxury house. He claims, iIt’s not about seasonal dressing anymore—that’s gone. People like clothes they can collect and wear for years.” BV customers have sworn by such wisdom for years, and the time has never been better to invest yourself in the timeless elegance of the structured, leather shifts or tiered daydresses offered here. One of the week’s more noble efforts.

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Once again forcing us to question the value of the jolie laid in our wardrobes, Miuccia Prada produced another provocative collection for Spring 2009, this time emphasizing crinkled, papery textiles, irresponsibly high heels, and further development of the “peek-a-boo” premise.

Models exposed bare midriffs (a trend we first spotted in NYC, let that be said) in cropped cashmere sweaters and vintage bra tops tenuously fastened by drawstrings, which were also appended to almost everything else, including the usual “sexy grandma” below-the-knee skirts and flung-on blouson jackets. They even trailed bloomers, where the hung awkwardly like bits of discarded tissue. The effect was remarkably unsexy, perhaps even unintentionally overshooting that particular goal.

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