Stefano Pilati

Designers are starting to confirm their dates for Monday night's Costume Institute gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, while other attendees are sharing who they will be wearing.

In attendee news, January Jones will accompany Stefano Pilati; Michael Kors will bring along Brooke Shields, Diane Lane, Carolyn Murphy, Natasha Poly, and Chanel Iman as his dates; Ralph and Ricky Lauren will have Taylor Swift, Jessica Biel, and Justin Timberlake at their table; and Lady Gaga will be the guest of Prada.

As for all the questions about how event sponsor Gap will fare on the red carpet, host Patrick Robinson has enlisted CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund designers Sophie Theallet, Thakoon, Alexander Wang, and Rodarte to design gowns in collaboration with the retailer. M.I.A. and Zoë Kravitz will arrive in Alexander Wang for Gap, Kirsten Dunst and Jamie Bochert will be in Rodarte for Gap, Kerry Washington and Riley Keough will wear Thakoon's designs for Gap, and Jessica Alba and Vera Farmiga will wear Sophie Theallet for Gap. Anna Wintour will personally approve each design, and the day after the event, all dresses will be auctioned off with proceeds donated to the Costume Institute.

Melania Trump has announced she will wear Christian Siriano Monday evening, and we look forward to seeing Mrs. Trump in what she calls a "fierce, young, glamorous, elegant, sexy, big, and beautiful" dress.

Source: Getty

>> Stefano Pilati's failure to appear at last night's Metropolitan Opera Gala, Yves Saint Laurent's biggest event of the year stateside, raised a few eyebrows, The Daily reports. For the last two years running, Pilati has showed at the event, usually with Anna Wintour by his side, but last night neither appeared.

Apparently during Paris Fashion Week, talk turned to Pilati's sales performance at the brand: top retailers reported that Yves Saint Laurent's accessories sell well (Pilati has a foundation in shoes and bags) but the ready-to-wear fails to resonate with customers. Rumors that PPR is searching for a new creative director at the brand ensued.

Reps deny any rift »

>> Yves Saint Laurent Has Another Manifesto in the Bag —In what is quickly becoming Fashion Week tradition, Yves Saint Laurent has a new edition of its Manifesto, this time housed in a strawberry-printed tote — the fruit motif appeared all over Stefano Pilati's Spring 2010 collection for the label. On February 16, over half a million copies of the Manifesto (which includes images of brand face Natalia Vodianova captured by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin) will be distributed in Paris, London, Milan, Tokyo, Hong Kong and, for the first time, Berlin — with the first 2,000 passersby receiving the tote as well.

I've never seen a more polished-at-all-times group of people than Italians. I can always spot Italian tourists thanks to their spot-on style. Of course, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Missoni, Gianni Versace, Gucci, and Dolce & Gabbana are hugely responsible for that. But Italian Fashion Now by Maria Luisa Frisa ($14) dishes about the new rising stars of Italian fashion now. Giambattista Valli, Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy), Stefano Pilati (Yves Saint Laurent) are just a few. The book is currently on pre-order and will be released February, 10, 2010.

Kate Moss and Jamie Hince joined the legions of celebrities on boats with a ride during their St. Tropez vacation yesterday. They took a raft towards a waiting yacht, where the happy couple spent the afternoon chilling and swimming with a group of friends that included Kate's old modeling pal Karen Mulder and Stefano Pilati of Yves Saint Laurent. Kate and Stefano have business to discuss now that Kate's the face of his latest fragrance, but he's not the only guy she's partnering with — more details about her forthcoming TV collaboration with Simon Cowell are coming to light, and it looks like Kate just might be heading to US TV screens.

To see more Kate just read more

>> Fashion Figures Are in Full Vacation Mode —Everyone's trying to get their vacation in before Fashion Week's craziness takes over September and October: Stefano Pilati is currently relaxing by the pool of his ivy-covered summer place in Saint-Tropez, and Vogue has a whole slew of details on where models are vacationing, among them Coco Rocha, who is volunteering in Costa Rica for the entire month of August; Sasha Pivovarova, who is going to the Dominican Republic with her husband; and Caroline Trentini, who is already visiting family in Brazil. [Purple Diary, Vogue Daily]

>> INSIDER WIRE —Alber Elbaz loves his TV, but Stefano Pilati takes in a concert when he gets a break — he recently saw PJ Harvey while in New York.  And although he says he's "been working nonstop. Normally the summer is more relaxed, but this one, no way. I didn't stop one day," when he does get a chance for a longer break, he likes to "disappear" to Hawaii or Idaho to ski: "You know, I can't really stop thinking about collections, but at least I'm not under so much pressure."  [Purple Diary, Hint]

Stella McCartney will de designing one-off collections for Gap and babyGap, beginning later this year. ..

Stefano Pilati's sustainable YSL collection launched exclusively at Barneys and nearly sold out. 

Emma Watson has been revealed as the face of Burberry's Fall 2009 ad campaign. 

Net-a-Porter reported strong growth for 2008 as well as the first three months of this year.