Alexandra Shulman

>> Emerging London talent is finally getting its due. Just last week, Anna Wintour threw a party in New York for 20 up-and-coming London talents, and now this morning, Erdem Moralioglu was named the inaugural British Fashion Council/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund winner.

Moralioglu's award, much like its US counterpart from the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, includes prize money ringing in at £200,000 (approx. $303,000) and access to high-profile mentors for the next year to help him create a global brand. He beat out fellow nominees including Christopher Kane, Angel Jackson, Clements Ribeiro, Patrick Grant of E. Tautz, Marios Schwab, Nicholas Kirkwood, and Richard Nicoll.

So what does he plan to do with the money? »

Earlier today I broke the sad news that fashion had lost one of its best loved names. Alexander McQueen has apparantly committed suicide at his home, and while more details emerge, tributes have been appearing on Twitter.

The British designer was born Lee Alexander McQueen in East London and began his fashion career on Saville Row. He later completed an MA at Central Saint Martins and his graduate collection was famously bought up by Isabella Blow. He won British designer of the year four times between 1996 and 2003. He was the youngest designer to ever receive that accolade.

Daisy Lowe commented, "Wow that's a huge loss for the creative world," while Brix Smith Start is "stunned" and commented, "Poor man what a loss of talent!" Dita von Teese also made a brief comment on her Twitter simply stating, "Rest in Peace Mr. McQueen". Fellow designer Rachel Roy said, "My prayers are with A. McQueen's family and loved ones — a loss for the entire world on so many levels."

His most recent collection for Spring 2010 was inspired by his love of diving. He streamed the show live on ShowStudio and also showed off his commercial awareness by including the first play of Lady Gaga's new single. The Spring line included those by now infamous armadillo shoes which did not go in to production, but have been worn by Daphne Guinness amongst others.

British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman has released a statement saying, "Lee McQueen influenced a whole generation of designers. His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs. His death is the hugest loss for anybody that knew him and for many that didn't."

>> Vogue Editor Antics: The Alexandra Shulman, Aliona Doletskaya Edition —It's fairly often that a Vogue editor will run a topless photo of a woman in her magazine, but it's not often that the editor goes in for that type of thing herself. Not so for Russian Vogue's Aliona Doletskaya, who's on the cover of Moscow-based Blacksquare, wearing nothing but a little jewelry. As for mixed messages, British Vogue's Alexandra Shulman says in an interview out over the weekend: "Vogue is not my personal taste, really. I think of it more as a kind of newspaper. It's reporting on what's out there, to some extent, with me editing." [Fashin, Guardian UK]

>> BFC, Vogue UK Start Fashion Fund —Two weeks before this year's CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winners are announced in New York, London has decided to get in on the fun.  The British Fashion Council and British Vogue have teamed up for the new BFC Vogue Design Fashion Fund, which will provide one British-based designer with £200,000 (approx. $328,000) and a year's worth of mentoring support, much like its American counterpart. The inaugural winner and finalists will be announced next April, with Alexandra Shulman chairing the judging panel. [WWD, Telegraph UK]

>> The second edition of LOVE comes out next week, and even though she just recently got married, editor-in-chief Katie Grand didn't have time for a honeymoon because she had to finish the issue.  Katie is somewhat the antithesis of Anna Wintour in the so-called glamorous world of fashion: she doesn't feel the need to have every hair in place and she doesn't mandate high heels, like Vogue supposedly does.

“I’m really practical,” she recently told the Times UK. “I go to the gym most mornings and I walk everywhere, so that’s why I wear flat shoes and no make-up. It’s not vanity; it’s laziness. I didn’t wear make-up on my wedding day because I didn’t want mascara running down my face if I cried.”  Also missing from the wedding?  The traditional white dress. “I wore an Azzedine Alaïa brown snakeskin dress, which he tortured me for about two months to get into, but at least it’s something I can wear again. I didn’t want some stupid white dress; it seems like such a waste."

Food banned at LOVE's office? »

>> Two Vogue Editor-in-Chiefs MIA at Couture —Anna Wintour isn't the only one who is mysteriously missing from the front rows at couture, an unprecedented move; British Vogue's Alexandra Shulman is also missing in action.  Both women have deputies on the scene, but their absence begs the question: Are the September issues causing an issue this year? [FWD]

>> Over the weekend, Christian Lacroix told the Telegraph UK that he would be having a Fall 2009 Couture show — "and it won't be a funeral: it'll be a fightback."  Now, we have more details.

A spokeswoman for the designer confirmed today that Lacroix is having a "very small and simple presentation" on July 7, with 20 outfits on live models.  In his interview with the Telegraph UK, Lacroix stated that it "can't cost us a single euro to put this show on," which means that any model (as well as any other staff) working at the upcoming show will have volunteered her time without pay.

But the models won't be "too thin" »

>> INSIDER WIRE —Days after British Vogue's editor Alexandra Shulman advocated against size zero models and sample sizes, two models have joined Erin O'Connor in supporting Alexandra's letters to design houses: Helena Christensen and Crystal Renn. Helena went on record saying: “It’s about time somebody takes action. Obviously I am of the same belief…aren’t we in a business that is supposed to explore all kinds of shapes and silhouettes?” Crystal, too, applauded Alexandra's move: "This will hopefully serve as another critical step towards having better representation of women throughout all categories in fashion." [WWD]

>> Over the weekend, a "strongly worded letter" from Vogue UK's Alexandra Shulman "sent to scores of designers in Europe and America" — including Prada, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, and Chanel — was leaked to the Times UK in what some are calling a publicity stunt.

In the letter, Shulman exhumed the size zero fight, accusing designers of an "increasingly disturbing" practice of sending fashion magazines "minuscule" clothes for photo shoots. "I am finding that the feedback from my readers and the general feeling in the UK is that people don't really want to see such thin girls."

She noted that the samples sent were becoming "substantially smaller": "Nowadays, I often ask the photographers to retouch to make the models appear larger." Furthermore, she wrote: "We have now reached a point where many of the sample sizes don't comfortably fit even the established star models. Instead, we are having to use girls with jutting bones and no breasts or hips, to fit them."

So who's with her? »