“It’s an incredible achievement and means that people are paying close attention to the brand [Dior] when it speaks,” said Alex Mendoza of Stylophane, a company that monitors crap figures like this. “They have an incredible brand and they are saying things that are bringing people back.”

Dior’s 12 posts during the month of January racked up around 13,000 likes each. Other luxury brands who are popular with the kids today include Chanel with an average 7,200 likes per post (lpp), social media juggernaut Burberry, which averaged about 6,800 lpp and The Art of Travel by Louis Vuitton, clocking in almost 4,400 lpp.

And for more in-depth info, take a gander at this handy dandy chart of the top 10 brands:

 [WWD]

- Andrej Pejic perfected his tuck to model a bikini on a rooftop in New York. All in a gay’s work. [Telegraph]

- Wet Hot American Summer 2. Happening. Get into it. [Huff Po]

- Is Barneys broke? The luxury retailer is having some fairly public money woes. Hey, the recession has hit us all in considerable ways. [WWD]

- Seems like I wasn’t the only one who had a rough night. But in all fairness, I didn’t get stuck in an elevator. But then again, I didn’t get to see Chaka Khan. You take the good with the bad, kids. [Racked]

- A history of the front row at fashion shows proves that celebrities have and will always take precedence. See Babs Streisand resigning Richard Avedon to the second row at Chanel in 1960. [The Cut]

- Calvin Klein, class of 1963 donated $2 million to FIT, the biggest donation from an alumnus in the school’s history. [WWD]

I hear you’ve been in the works with this Macy’s project for over a year. When you started, did you know that Karl Lagerfeld had signed on, and the great roster of talent they were gathering?

I knew that Karl was involved. I have to be honest, he was a big motivator for me. I’ve always been a fan of Giambattista Valli, and Karl Lagerfeld is like God.

Which of your strongest aesthetics did you apply to designing this collection?

Definitely the element of jersey. I’m known for this elegant ease and I think that’s what I wanted to convey. It’s not the same jersey we use for the collection, but it’s a beautiful modal and I think it’s so modern. It’s great that they’re able to make it accessible for so many people.

What are you most excited about for your show this Fashion Week?

I love the process. During fashion week, there’s a rhythm to it. Everything feels great, and then you feel the emotion that comes with it; the momentum picks up. You work with all these creative minds and it’s so great to see it all come together. We have a rack for the clothes with about five pieces on there. And it’s amazing how fast things happen as you get closer to the day. Before you know it, it’s 3 days before styling and that rack just fills up, 10 more pieces, 20 more pieces, 30 more pieces! I don’t know how it happens! But it just does. And then things get faster. We’re working there 24/7 and it feels like 2 hours have gone by. It’s Fashion Law. Something happens where time gets sped up, but everything speeds up, the amount of clothes that are produced, the energy level, the creativity and I love that rhythm.

- Taking two very different interpretations of ballin’,  Karl Lagerfeld showed Chanel’s fall 2012 haute couture show on a specially-built luxury airplane and Riccardo Tisci chose the oldest gymnasium in Paris for Givenchy.

- Tim Gunn hasn’t been laid in 29 years. Well, that explains the crusty demeanor…and his personality. [The Cut]

- Some attendees of Chanel’s Numéro Privés installation in Vegas – who were flown via private jet —   weren’t feeling classy enough, so they bee-lined it over to the AVN Adult Film Awards afterwards. [Page Six]

- Cynthia Nixon showed off her shorn scalp this morning on Live with Kelly! (that exclamation point is mandatory otherwise it would be a “?”). The actress formerly known as Miranda shaved her head for a new role on Broadway. [E!]

- Terry Richardson shot Kreayshawn for V Magazine and surprisingly she didn’t end up topless. [Refinery29]

- Gisele and Tom Brady‘s new $20 million dollar house has a bridge adjoining its two wings — which Gisele will hopefully use as a runway. [Fashionista]

- You could head over to Elle for Nicki Minaj‘sbeauty secrets or cut out the middle man and ask any drag queen. [Elle]

- Fashion’s Night Out, the night that refuses to die, will take place on September 6 this year. [Styleite]

- It pays to have a supermodel in the family. Karlie Kloss gifted her sisters and her mom with Chanel bags for their birthdays. [The Cut]

- If there was any doubt, President Obama is the smoothest world leader around. The commander in chief did a little rendition of Al Green‘s “Let’s Stay Together” — and I’m pretty sure Nancy Pelosi tossed her granny panties on stage immediately afterwards. This is how you win an election, kids.

Hers curated by: Samantha Lim
His curated by: McArthur Joseph

[Huffington Post]

Jewelry designer Katy Kippen doesn’t think accessories have to be complicated. Her line Grayling is built on the simple concept of high-quality construction and fashion-forward design at approachable price points. Just like a classic clothing designer, Kippen drapes her pieces on dress forms, creating timeless pieces you can wear forever. Hand-constructed in Portland, OR, Kippen is inspired by her grandfather, a former lapidary and jewelry artist, as well as the pre-war designs of Chanel and Vionnet.

How can you win $300 to shop Grayling Jewelry? Head on over to the online store and tell us in the comments what you would buy with the $300 and why. As always, the accessory addict with our favorite answer will win the prize. Good luck!

Questions about Grayling Jewelry or the giveaway? Ask me on Twitter @CrystlMeatballs. All FashionIndie contest are open to residents of the United States only.

Photo: Fashion Gone Rogue

Key Pieces: In addition to the previous items, we’re talking sequins, a string of pearls down to the ground, more sequins, Chanel doorknockers, and the occasional kitten heel.

Designers to Wear:  Donna Karan, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen

Defining Fashion Moment: Season 7, Episode 19, “Journey to the Center of Attention.” In a bar full of middle-aged horndogs itching to climb up Blanche’s dress (she’s not wearing any underwear…meanwhile, imagine your grandma saying that to anyone and not being able to blame it on the Alzheimer’s) when Dorothy steals the spotlight by singing a heartfelt rendition of Irving Berlin‘s “What’ll I Do.”

All the while, she’s wearing  a black blazer with gold piping and epaulets, black pants tucked into a slouchy black boot and only one major accessory — her gold Chanel doorknockers. Perfection. Simple, chic, but still playing on that fun masculine edge. Signature Dorothy.

- Chanel has confirmed rumors that Alice Dellal is the newest face of its Boy Chanel handbag campaign, shot by Karl Lagerfeld himself. [WWD]

- Speaking of the industrious Herr Kaiser, more images have been released from his upcoming Karl line. [Vogue UK]

- Iris Apfel may well be nearing the 3,000-year-old mark, but she’s showing no signs of slowing down. The bespectacled harridan‘s MAC cosmetics line will launch on January 5. [Fashionista]

- Miss Sixty’s creative director Wichy Hassan passed away today after a long battle with cancer. [WWD]

- The trailer for the new Halston documentary, Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston, looks fucking awesome — particularly since Liza Minnelli crawled out of whatever gutter she’s been jazz-handing in to provide commentary. [The Cut]

Photo: Lilogi

All photos via NYMag.

“The Great Designers” will also be accompanied by the book The Great Designers: Fashion’s Hall of Fame from A to Z, highlighting 500 of the museum’s masterworks by 100 of the 20th- and 21st-century’s most important designers. Publishing in April 2012, the book will include an essay by museum curator Valerie Steele on the history of fashion museums and exhibits,  along with short bios on the 100 designers. Click through the gallery for some of the designs featured and to keep you occupied until you can make your way to the FIT Museum to see them in person. [WWD, FIT]

Photo: Fly and Mighty

Lagerfeld will provide illustrations and commentary for the special issue, which kicks off the daily’s coverage of New York, London, Milan and Paris Fashion Week. “I love daily papers and it’s fun to be part of one of them just for the day. Metro is on a worldwide scale and it’s even more fun,” the Kasiser unconvincingly claims.

The newspaper is also running a Look Book contest, giving readers a chance to win — in addition to a trip to Paris to be Uncle Karl’s editorial assitant — a few pieces from the designer’s collections. As if the prospect of being yelled at by Karl Lagerfeld about the qaulity of his coffee and/or your copy wasn’t impetus enough, imagine getting some free Chanel and/or Fendi in the process? [WWD]

Of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without a line of shoppers on East 60th St, though some were more determined than others. “We left at 4:45 a.m. thinking the line would be huge,” one Bostonian monster told WWD. Considering the workshop didn’t officially open for business until 11:59 pm, mayhaps they jumped the love-glue-gunnin’ a bit.

Mother Monster was in the Christmas spirit, however, and shined the light of her benevolence on her little monsters, without whom none of this would be relevant: “Yes I have fun fashion ideas and have a knack for trinkets, but the truth is if the love of the fans didn’t mean something powerful from a cultural standpoint, coming to Barneys to buy Gaga presents wouldn’t mean anything.…They wanted to come here for an experience that they could enjoy together.”

And for the Gaga cookies. Let’s not forget the Gaga cookies. [WWD]

Photos: Fashion Gone Rogue

Over 950 pieces of fine and costume jewelry, accessories, and decorative objects will be available for perusal and possible purchase – from Chanel, Christian Dior, and Cartier jewels; to handbags and shoes from Christian Louboutin, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, and Prada. Though of course that’s just the tip of the diamond-encrusted iceberg.

The full collection goes on view November 18, but a preview is available through Christies and e-tailer Moda Operandi. Then come Decmber 3, interested parties can begin to register for the auction itself.

So this holiday season, show that you really care with a gift from the vaults of Hollywood royalty. And instead of wrapping said gift and placing it under the tree —  storm into the room Christmas morning, rip off a pair of diamond earrings, plunk them in front of the giftee and breathlessly say, “These have always brought me luck.” Then clutch your figurative pearls and disappear as mysteriously as you came. It’s what Liz would have wanted. [Hint Mag]

Photos: W

These Chanel Prestige styles range from $405 – $600 and are available at Sunglass Hut.

Photos: Zimbio

“This jacket is a vital and irrational impulse open to creativity and transformation,” Lagerfeld explains, adding: “Especially in the hands of Carine Roitfeld.”

The new issue of V hits newsstands today, November 9. Images via Fashionologie

Cover girl Lucas plays the fair-haired, fair-skinned outsider, finding sophistication in the wilderness with looks from Bottega Veneta, Marni, Tommy Hilfiger, Miu Miu, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Meanwhile Fogarty is immersed in tribal prints and the occasional headwrap from the runways of Burberry, Balenciaga, Pucci, Diane von Furstenberg, Giorgio Armani and Maison Martin Margiela.

Photos: Image Amplified and Fashion Gone Rogue

Pick and choose whatever colors you like — well not really since you have access to a rather limited color palette that Karl Lagerfeld himself would openly balk at — to design Chanel accessories, such as the iconic bouclé tweed jacket, a pump, a hair-bow, and a clutch. Then there’s a little memory game — you know the kind where you flip over the cards and try to match up the images.

Every child should be able to play with Chanel in some capacity or another, as should every adult, which is why I’m going to spend the next hour or so coloring in my Chanel collection to go on display next February in Paris. Ah, a designer’s work is never done! [Styleite via Chanel Culture]

Questions about the CHANEL Celebrity Makeup Artist dinner? Ask me on Twitter @CrystlMeatballs. All photos from Billy Farrell Agency.

Gone, however, is a cat-whiskered Freja Beha Erichsen jammed into a photo booth. For spring, it’s “all about athletics and the sea.…It’s very modern sportif and in black-and-white,” quote the Lagerfeld. Uncle Karl shot Roitfeld fave Saskia de Brauw and Naomi winner Joan Smalls over the weekend at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France, but there’s no rest for the wicked — which would explain why he (almost) never takes off his glasses…giant bags and I’m not talking monogrammed — as the Kaiser then zipped off to Rome to photograph Arizona Muse for Fendi‘s fall campaign. [WWD]

The collection will feature 100 pieces, ranging from $95 to $450, debuting via Net-a-Porter and coming to karllagerfeld.com February 28th. Karl pop-up shops are being planned in several major cities, with at least one in Paris, and a select 20 “high-visibility” retailers will also carry the line. The company will expand into menswear for the fall 2012 season.

While the Karl line is meant to appeal to the younger generation, Karl Lagerfeld Paris, a more upscale collection, will be targeted at retailers in Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Asia and “key fashion cities” of North America — sorry L.A. — with prices starting where Karl left off, $411 to $3,425.

These initiatives are meant to turn the Lagerfeld celebrity into a global brand that exists independently of the Chanel and Fendi houses. That, thankfully, does not mean an end to the king of collaborations crown. So you can still get your Macy’s T-shirts, your overpriced glassware and god knows what else the Kaiser plasters his name to, but fair warning, those co-branding opportunities will be fewer and farther between. [WWD, sub req'd]

*Kate Middleton‘s Alexander McQueen was a late addition and Rubenstein had to cut one of the dresses to keep the list to 100. So it was sayonara Nancy Reagan and her white one-shoulder inauguration ball gown. Michelle Obama‘s Jason Wu, however, remained in tact. [WWD, sub req'd]

“I take the ghetto ideas and make them mainstream,” Robson told WWD. All photos via Sophy Robson’s Tumblr So So Fly Nails.

Having mastered the art of social media — they’re #1 on Facebook with nearly 9 million “Likes” and #2 on Twitter — Burberry continues to find innovative ways to engage consumers such as a live-streaming Tweetwalk, where looks from London Fashion Week were Tweeted before they hit the runway. They also scored well in e-commerce and mobile commerce thanks to its global site relaunch, landing the over 150-year-old British label the top spot on the L2 index and the official label of “Genius.”

Kate Spade was a newcomer to the index but their blend of smart e-commerce and a strong mobile and social presence skyrocketed the brand to the #2 spot. Storied houses Chanel and Christian Dior, on the other hand, seem to be resting on their luxury laurels earning only “Average” L2 IQs.

Prada and Hermès started running with the bad girls in school, smoking in the bathroom and dating college boys instead of working on their social media and as a result their IQs plummeted from “Gifted” in 2009 to “Challenged” in 2011. And to make matters worse, Prada was cited as the “biggest digital disappointment in luxury.” Yikes, wait til your father hears about this….

But in their defense, Europe might just have a harder learning curve. Ten of the top fifteen brands in the L2 index were American and on average American brands have a higher digital IQ than their Euro counterparts. Finally, somewhere the U.S. excels in something besides obesity and sluttiness.

The top 10 list is as follows:

1. Burberry: Digital births an icon: Proof that digital investments translate to shareholder value.

2. Kate Spade: Top social media score; Index newcomer did not get memo that heritage is necessary to be iconic digitally.

3. Coach: New York native continues to woo the blogosphere and registers top scores for site experience.

3. Gucci: Gucci Connects dots and delivers with shoppable video and recent Tumblr launch

5. Dolce & Gabbana: Global site relaunch threads needle of edgy and effective.

5. Tory Burch: Facebook store leads fashion F-commerce (r)evolution.

7. Ralph Lauren: New York Times iPad app takeover transforms brand into rich media publisher.

8. Hugo Boss: Top mobile scores and interactive YouTube channel venture differentiate the brand online.

9. Louis Vuitton: Embracing the spirit of travel with Amble app; Leads on Foursquare.

10. Michael Kors: Destination: Kors. Evolving brand into an online lifestyle.

[Luxury Lab, Telegraph]

On pregnancy and motherhood: “It was important to me that I gave myself time to focus on becoming the woman I want to be, building my empire, my relationship, and my self-worth, before I became a mother,” she says. “Now God has blessed us with the ultimate.”

On her husband, Jay-Z: “We have been together since I was 20 years old. We took our time and developed an unbreakable friendship before we got married. I admire his ability to inspire others. To me, Jay represents the American dream. Jay’s music has helped define our generation. All that he has overcome and worked to achieve gives millions hope that they can become whatever they want to be. I respect him so much; he is a great man and a great artist.”