- Perhaps anticipating a forthcoming lull in her career, Rihanna has signed on to host and produce her first reality show. [Huff Po]

- Diane von Furstenberg still does not care for any jailbait on her goddamn runway, thanks. [The Cut]

- IMG threw it way back to the Renaissance for its show package, featuring star models Joan Smalls, Candice Swanepoel, Jessica Stam, Karolina Kurkova, Lily Donaldson et al photoshopped into classic works of art. [Modelinia]

- Noted wheeler and occasional dealer Pat Sajak claims he’s hosted Wheel of Fortune drunk on many an occasion. In fact, he and Vanna White used to knock back “two or three or six” maggy ritas during lunch. Or what I like to call a Wednesday. [The Hollywood Reporter]

-Here’s a preview of Adriana Lima‘s Super Bowl commercial for Kia. Mid-sized economy cars just got a whole lotta sexy:

This comes on the spiked heels of last Fashion Week when it was came to light that DVF herself had used 15-year-old model Haley Clauson in her runway show. But fool DVF once, shame on you; fool her twice and you’re getting your underage ass carded at the door.

“The casting agents for the Diane von Furstenberg show will be doing this and we encourage others to do the same,” read the letter. All top model agencies have agreed not to send girls under 16 for the shows, while catwalkers Sara Ziff (Marilyn) and Lily Aldridge (IMG) will give up-and-coming girls from their respective agencies a good talking-to on Thursday as part of the CFDA Ambassador Program.

Well, you gotta respect the CFDA for trying, but I don’t see what the big deal is if a model is 15 or 16 or 82. If homegirl can walk down a runway in a 6-in heel and sell the garment, let her work! She probably has a starving village in some third world country — or New Jersey — to provide for. [WWD]

Milk is now represented by Creative Artists Agency and has brought on Lexus and American Express as sponsors in addition to original partner MAC Cosmetics.  This partnership has also gone through some changes and beginning this Fashion Week MAC & Milk shows will be under the name of Made.

Lincoln Center on the other hand has IMG, Mercedes-Benz and Maybelline, as well as AmEx with MAC also providing make-up for many a MBFW show.

While Made focuses on emerging designers and does not charge to rent their space — MAC is the exclusive make-up provider leaving models and music on the bill — Lincoln Center caters to more high-profile designers, who in addition to paying for the venue also have to dig deep for models, hair, music and makeup. And these are just a few of the differences:

Number of Shows:

Made – 35

MBFW – 98 (81 on-site, 17 off)

Sponsors:

Made – MAC, American Express and Lexus

MBFW - DHL, Maybelline New York, American Express, TRESemmé, W Hotels Worldwide, Fiber One Bars, ideeli, Fiji Water, AriZona Beverages

Designers:

Made - Sophie Theallet, Cushnie Et Ochs, Peter Som, Erin by Erin Fetherston, Billy Reid, Simon Spurr, Ohne Titel, Jeremy Scott, Nahm

MBFW - BCBG Max Azria, Tommy Hilfiger, Nicole Miller, Cynthia Rowley, Derek Lam, Tracy Reese, L.A.M.B., Diane von Furstenberg, Betsey Johnson, Tory Burch, Badgley Mischka, Vera Wang, Diesel, Michael Kors, Nanette Lepore, J.Mendel, Milly by Michelle Smith, Anna Sui, Elie Tahari

With Fashion Week just around the corner and all those sponsorship dollars, designer reputations and AmEx black cards floating around, the stage is set for a good ole-fashioned walk-off between Milk Studios and Lincoln Center. [WWD]

From Benjamin Kanarek Blog

I am sure you have all seen those adverts saying, “…become a top model…”.  Or “You can become a model in only 6 weeks…” etc.

I find it sad and pathetic that so many kids and parents fall for those solicitations.  I can only imagine how much money is tossed out the window by so many those hoping to become models via the Modeling Schools offering fame and fortune in the fashion business.

So for those of you reading this and hoping to become models, let me edify you to the reality of the business.

There is no school out there that can make you that promise and keep it.

Modeling Schools

To become a model the reality is the following:

If you are over 5?-9? or 1m 75 cm around 14-16 years of age or even younger.

Have a unique look that breaks with convention.

A classic conventional look that is really commercial.

Have been discovered by a credible model agency scout or recognized fashion photographer.

A fashion magazine editor has discovered you and sent you to one of the above agencies or other credible agencies in the major modeling centers.

Have been to see the credible model agencies around like Elite, Ford, Next, IMG, Marilyn, One Model Management, Folio, Select, Premier, Modelwerk, Viva, etc. and they have accepted you for their roster.

All modeling agencies worth their weight, will teach the models the necessary talent to survive in the business.  They will warn them against certain career pitfalls, who and what to avoid, teach them how to walk for runway work, as well as some of the more important aspects of posing and attitudes needed to approach a photo and video shoot. Of course there are other types of modeling that I have not mentioned, like hand, leg, body, extra work, glamor, erotic, people, lifestyle etc. modeling that falls under a very different category and doesn’t really require the above attributes.

Perhaps schools wishing to teach poise, posture, social graces, table manners, walking gracefully etc. should just advertise themselves as Charm Schools.  At least then those wishing to learn the above would be well informed. If none of the above situations apply, I suggest that you save your money and invest in other aspects of your capabilities and pass GO and save your $200.00. One day you might want to pass this on to those seeking your advice.

Comments are welcome

Check out the top 5 posers and vote for your favorite on Facebook! The winner gets a spread in Italian Vogue, a $100,000 contract with IMG and a medallion made of Swarovski crystals and various semi-precious metals with “Baddest Bitch” engraved on it.*

*Or something along those lines.

- The first fashion show was probably staged in New York City specialty store, Ehrich Brothers in 1903 as a means to lure middle-class women.

- By 1910, many big-name department stores were holding shows, though mostly of French or French-inspired clothing.

- 1914, Fashion Fete, an event to benefit the war-relief effort is organized by former Vogue editor (1914-1952), Edna Woolman Chase.

- By 1920s, fashion shows were common and had Parisian, Persian, Chinese, Russian, and Mexican themes, among others.

- Shows grew so popular merchants had to obtain licenses when using live models; in New York, police even threatened to put an end them altogether.

- When the Germans occupied France in 1940, buyers, editors, and designers were unable to travel to Paris to see the few remaining shows.

- Enter fashion publicist, Eleanor Lambert. She established the first Fashion Week, dubbed “Press Week,”  in 1943 to publicize American fashion and gain control of the market.

- Lambert hoped to give editors a chance to see and write about the work of American designers; they would stay on-site, usually at the Pierre or Plaza Hotels while buyers were forced to visit the designers’ showrooms.

- Soon Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, who had previously featured exclusively French designs, began embracing American fashions and crediting the names behind them.

- 1970s and 80s, designers began holding shows in lofts, restaurants and clubs; after a series of mishaps in small, unsafe locations in the early 90s, Fern Mallis, then president of the CFDA, spearheaded a movement to have all the shows in one place.

- Striking a deal with Bryant Park to house the shows in tents, the Spring 1994 collection was the first Fashion Week to be held there.

- The event at the tents was officially branded Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in 2009 to reflect corporate sponsorship.

- After numerous disputes between the Park’s management and the show’s producers, IMG, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week was moved to Lincoln Center for the Spring 2011 collections, though many designers still opt to have their shows away from the tents.

- Each year, about 232,000 people attend New York’s Fall and Spring Fashion Weeks. This accounts for approximately $466 million in direct visitor spending and about $1.6 billion in tax revenue to the city’s fashion industry.

- $40 million – restaurants; $30 million – taxis, Town Cars, and public transportation; $56 million – hotels.

So there’s a method to the madness after all. And that method is spelled with about 8 zeros. See you in the Fall!

Link Love: Slate, Boston.com

Known for Opening AND Closing the F/W 2010 Prada show, Samantha has yet to complete a full season of fashion shows. Samantha keeps her personal style equally high end with her Prada Bag and Alexander Wang skirt.

LINK LOVE:Samantha Gradoville Off Duty (IMG NY): exiting the Elie Saab Couture show

Become a FashionIndie.com contributor. Subscribe to Envy.

LINK LOVE:Frida Gustavsson Off Duty: at the Paris Couture shows

Become a FashionIndie.com contributor. Subscribe to Envy.

Tyra has decided to cancel her show and get back into modeling, she just re-signed her contract with her former agency, IMG.

LINK LOVE: Modelinia

LINK LOVE: StyleElite

Check out Hedi Slimane’s photo diary here!

Thanks Style.com!

IMG releases their official list of fashion week designers!!!!  We’ve got the full list after the jump.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week kicks off with the 7^th edition of The Heart Truth’s Red Dress Collection 2009 and is followed by  Yigal Azrou?l, Duckie Brown, Charlotte Ronson, BCBGMAXAZRIA, Nicole Miller, This Day/Arise Magazine: African Fashion Collective 2009, Academy of Art University, Venexiana, Lacoste, Georges Chakra, Andy & Debb, ADAM, Barbie Runway Show™, Verrier, Monarchy, Lela Rose, Mara Hoffman, Nicholas K, Sergio Davila, Hervé Léger by Max Azria, Diane Von Furstenberg, Akiko Ogawa., Erin Fetherston, Miss Sixty, Farah Angsana, Carolina Herrera, Carlos Miele, Tracy Reese, Tony Cohen, Terexov, William Rast, Cynthia Steffe, Badgley Mischka, Matthew Williamson, Pamella Roland, Diesel Black Gold, Dennis Basso, Cho Cheng, MAX AZRIA, Tibi, J. Mendel, Nanette Lepore, Michael Kors, Richard Chai, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Alexandre Herchcovitch, Milly by Michelle Smith, Anna Sui, Tommy Hilfiger, Brian Reyes, Rebecca Taylor, Ports 1961, Custo Barcelona, Zac Posen, Project Runway and Tadashi Shoji. DKNY, Calvin Klein Men’s Collection, Y-3, Jill Stuart, Donna Karan New York, Yeohlee, Z Zegna, Calvin Klein Women’s Collection and Ralph Lauren are associate members on the official Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week calendar with shows off-site.

Ever since Gemma Ward took her leave of absence from the modeling world to pursue acting, it seems as if a very similar face has taken her place as model most wanted. Sasha Pivovarova, the 23 year-old Russian, Gemma Ward look-alike, signed with IMG in 2005 and snagged a Prada fragrance campaign in 2007, ironically when Ward began to disappear from runways, ads and editorials. The two models look frighteningly similar with their long blonde hair, pale skin, deer-like grey eyes, tall slender bodies, dainty lips and overall doll-ish appearance. Their careers are strangely similar as well, both working intensely with Prada and being deemed, at one point or another, top of the top by Models.com. Now, I have great respect for Pivovarova, Ward and IMG, but is it just me, or was Pivovarova the replacement for Ward? Not to say that Pivovarova wouldn’t have been an incredibly successful model if she were with a different agency (any way you look at it, she is unique and beautiful), but it seems to me that IMG didn’t want to let the doll-face model slip from their hands after Ward temporarily packed up her bags. Maybe I am completely wrong and IMG has plans to use both models in tandem, to launch the two in “twin” campaigns and editorials. Either way, I am very curious to see what is going to happen when Ward makes her grand re-appearance. Will she give Pivovarova a catwalk run for her money? Will the fashion industry be over her, sending her back to the acting world? Will bookers devour the dolls, making the both of them more successful than ever? Stay tuned for the next episode of “Whose Face Is It Anyway?”

Fashionista has reported that Taylor Momsen, 14, of Gossip Girl just got signed to IMG models.

This will make her one of the youngest girls to sign with IMG – a year younger than Gemma Ward when she scored her first Prada campaign.

This contract normally comes with a spread from Teen Vogue , some sort of teen CVS beauty products, and a Dooney and Bourke ad, way to go Taylor.

Holey Hipster Hang Ups Batman. It seems that Leigh is right on track to rule the runway. We just got sent some her comp card from IMG Models. The girl definitely knows how to strike a pose and with all the online buzz (hate that word) circulating about her getting signed, I’m sure it won’t be long before she lands a cover or two.

Watch your back Cory Kennedy, I knew scenesters going mainstream.