Linda Evangelista

>> INSIDER WIRE —This year's Costume Insitute Gala, dedicated to "The Model as Muse," is just over a month away.  It's a little too early to know who will be wearing whom — although Chanel Iman hinted she may be accompanying Jason Wu — but as for the exhibit, it will be comprised predominantly of photographs rather than clothing as in years past, and the supermodels of the '80s and '90s — Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Kate Moss — will be the main focus. [FWD] 
*image: source

>> He may be one of the lesser knowns of a design generation that includes Valentino Garavani, Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, and Giorgio Armani, but at 68, Azzedine Alaia has carved out a niche of his own.  Like Armani, Alaia owns his business, allowing him to design his way — as Stephanie Seymour, who spoke with the designer for March 2009 Interview puts it — "usually very late at night with an old film playing in the background."  More elusive than Marc Jacobs but more forthcoming than Martin Margiela, a window into Alaia's world is always a treat; More from Seymour and the man she refers to as "Papa":

Alaia was fired from Christian Dior after five days.

I met my best friend, Leila, whose mother had connections to clients of Christian Dior in Paris, and eventually someone asked if I could come work there. I got the job. But when I arrived, it was the end of the Algerian War [1962]. After five days there they said to me, "You can't work here any longer. You're a foreigner."

"I have such fond memories . . ." »

>> Last week, PPR/Gucci Group CEO Francois-Henri Pinault was rumored to be the father of French cabinet member Rachida Dati's daughter.  His spokesperson begs to differ: "Not true.  We deny it totally."

But this isn't the first time Pinault has become embroiled in a game of "Who's the father?" — in 2006, Linda Evangelista gave birth to a baby boy, and opted not to reveal the paternity.  At the time, Canadian Hello! quoted her saying the father was "a New York architect," but another source said it was Pinault.  Her agent denied everything: "Not true. She has never said who the father is."

As for the one child under three Pinault has acknowledged — Valentina Paloma, by Salma Hayek — there seems to something still going on between her parents.  The two announced their engagement in March 2007, but then called it off in July 2008, no reason given.  Since then, they have been spotted together numerous times — and not just when Valentina is around.

Last night, when Salma appeared on Late Show with David Letterman, Dave grilled her: "I understand you kids are engaged, is there going to be a wedding soon?"  She didn't correct him, instead replying in a way that genuinely seemed unsure: "I don't know, I don't know . . . Maybe . . . but then again maybe not."  But then Dave also referred to Pinault as her husband, and she didn't correct him then, either, so who knows . . .
*image: source

>> ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL —Take Prada Fall 2008, add a dash of Yves Saint Laurent Fall 2008 and you've got a supermodel cocktail for Dsquared2's Spring 2009 campaign — Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista captured in an epic catfight by Steven Meisel, echoing the supermodel theme Dean and Dan Caten had going for their runway show. [Models.com] 

>> INSIDER WIRE —032c, a Berlin-based art and culture magazine, scored a rare interview for its new "Post-America issue" with Steven Meisel — and Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell both weigh in.  The man has photographed two decades worth of Vogue Italia covers — speaking of which, he has a new favorite subject — Katrin Thormann, who he's put on the cover in both November and December Vogue Italia. [The Moment]

>> Hints at the 2009 Costume Institute Gala theme have been swirling since May — first, it was thought to be an ode to Marc Jacobs, and then an ode to fashion muses.  Now that the official announcement has come out, we learn that both subjects are involved, just not quite in the way that was originally thought: the May 4 gala rings in "The Model as Muse," with Marc Jacobs as honorary chair, and Kate Moss, Anna Wintour, and Justin Timberlake as co-chairs.

The accompanying exhibit, which runs May 6 to Aug. 9, will explore the evolution of models and "their roles in projecting and sometimes inspiring the fashion of their respective eras," with special focus on one of the first publicly known models, Marion Morehouse; the first supermodel, Lisa Fonssagrives; fifties mannequins Suzy Parker, Dovima, Sunny Harnett, and Dorian Leigh; sixties icons Jean Shrimpton, Moffitt, Twiggy, and Veruschka; Seventies faces Jerry Hall, Iman, and Janice Dickinson; the supermodel trinity of Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, and Naomi Campbell; Nineties “It” girls Kate Moss, Amber Valletta, Nadja Auermann, and Shalom Harlow; and more recently, Gisele Bundchen.

As Harold Koda, curator of the Costume Institute, explained: "We look at the power of clothing, fashion photography and the model to project the look of an era. With a mere gesture, or the line of her body, a truly stellar model can sum up the attitude of her time, creating an alluring synergy between herself and the clothing to communicate a designer’s message to the wider world."

Seventy haute couture and ready-to-wear looks, plus photography, runway images, and video footage of models, rock stars, socialites and actresses who set the tone for each era will emphasize the theme, but most exciting of all — think of all the models who will be representing at the gala.
*image: source