Visit Donna Distefano in her studio/showroom on 37 West 20th street, Suite 1106, NYC. See more than just jewelry; see all the tools it takes to make your beloved sparklies. And learn the true history behind every part of the jewelry.

- “Visitors to Alexander McQueen‘s ‘Savage Beauty’ exhibit exceed 500,000.” Meanwhile, the exhibit ends August 7. If you don’t see it by then, kill yourself. [Telegraph]

- Go behind the scenes of V Magazine‘s Liz Taylor inspired editorial. Bring your electric blue eye shadow and your  flask of vodka. [Stylelist]

- The Queen thinks that the display of Kate Middleton‘s wedding dress at Buckingham palace is “horrid.” Jealousy is not a good color for a monochrome skirtsuit, Queen. [WWD]

- Gaga does not own an iPhone because her nails are too long to use one… Tranny. [Glamour]

- Valentino was doing red soles in the 60s. Guess what? Case closed. [Stylelite]

- And not at all coincidentally, Anna Wintour is now a museum board member.

- Gisele is the most super supermodel in the world and future supers can only pale in their already pale comparisons.

- Isabella Blow‘s posthumous wardrobe will live on thanks to Daphne Guinness and a generous, completely justifiable use of the Guinness fortune.

- Hindu’s were up in arms — all 4 of them! — over a swimsuit bearing the goddess Lakshmi.

- The Schwarzenegger-Shrivers are now sans a hyphen (okay, it was never there) and a  marriage (nor was that).

- A fashion mag so rare you might be dead before it comes out again. Particularly since the world is ending any day now.

- Get your library cards out, Gaga wants to talk about…reading.

- This June John Galliano will be spelling couture : C-O-U-R-T…cause that’s where he’s going…court.

- Like that great poet — what was his name, oh yes, Biggie Smalls — once said, “Mo Money, Mo Problems.” Those problems just involve cutting back on the Birkin allowance.

Referring to her decision to snatch up Blow’s wardrobe as “probably the maddest…ever,” she explains that she did so not out of label lust but out of a desire to preserve Isabella Blow’s unique aesthetic:

“I thought what’s going to happen is [the pieces are] going to be lost. She had an incredible eye and she truly loved her pieces, they’re like a diary. I didn’t want to buy them and wear them, I wanted to buy them and keep them because I think it’s very interesting for students and people who are interested in fashion to see.”

Blow had introduced McQueen to Guinness while he was working for Givenchy, just as she had introduced him to Hamish Bowles years before. And though Daphne initially didn’t want to meet him, they became fast friends and as the lone survivor she certainly feels an obligation to keep both McQueen’s and Blow’s legacies alive:

“[The exhibition is] a very bittersweet thing, because you want to celebrate your friends but then it’s like where are they and why aren’t they here?” [The Cut]

- André Leon Talley ranks Beyoncé in Emilio Pucci as his best dressed from the Met Gala last night, though he modestly put himself at the lowly position at #12 when in reality he was the only lady to really turn it out on that carpet. [Vogue]

- Livia Firth, wife of this year’s Best Actor Oscar winner Colin Firth, had a meeting in the ladies room at the Met Ball with Stella McCartney, Lauren Hutton, Yoko Ono, Salma Hayek, Rihanna and Hilary Alexander and was gracious enough to tweet pics of it. [Refinery29]

- Mert & Marcus by Mert & Marcus. [Fashion Gone Rogue]

- John Galliano fired his lawyer, Stephane Zerbib over “apparent irregularities in respect of his firms administration of Galliano’s financial affairs over a number of years.” Sounds like someone had their hand in the couture cookie jar. [Vogue UK]

- Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, also known to commoners as Kate Middleton, wore White Gardenia Petals by Illuminum on her special day, thus ensuring that White Gardenia Petals by Illumnum will sell-out in a matter of minutes. [Grazia]

Tommy Hilfiger and Dee Ocleppo

David Lauren and Lauren Bush, both in Ralph Lauren

Alasdhair Willis and Stella McCartney, in her own design

Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill and model Lily Aldridge in Ralph Lauren

Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller, in her own design

- With the Met Gala, the Fashion World’s Oscars only a few hours away, what better way to celebrate (especially if your invitation was lost in the mail like mine, I’m assuming, was), then to take a stroll down memory lane of the Costume Institute‘s patron saint, Anna Wintour‘s ball looks over the years. Time had the unmitigated gaul to name Vogue‘s editrix the worst-dressed of the year for her Chanel Couture from 2008′s Superheroes exhibit, but hopefully whoever had the cheek to write that is hanging by his/her nipples in a dungeon in France somewhere. Where they belong. [Fashionologie]

- J. Crew‘s new catalog features employees modeling their clothes, including openly gay designer “Somsack” and his boyfriend “Micah,” that for some reason is deemed “explicit.” Dear “Straight” World, the gays date and wear clothes. That is when we’re not secretly plotting against the moral fiber of America and recruiting your children to our degenerate way of life. Actually, you know what, we can do both since our people are natural multi-taskers. — Love, The Gays [Refinery29]

- New W Fashion and Style Director, Edward Enninful describes his vision for the mag as thus: “I want editorial to be filled with ideas. It’s very important to capture the mood of the collections and bring narrative onto the pages. It’s also very important to be forward-thinking but remain wearable. We should project what’s going to come, take from the past and bring something new, and document what’s around now.” That means practically nothing to me, but I’m hoping it will translate into tons of black models and couture out the wazoo. [Style File]

- Professional jailbird Lindsay Lohan still somehow manages to find work, this time giving face on the cover of Blank, photographed by Steven Gomillion and Dennis Leupold. I’m holding out hope for a jailhouse photoshoot during the four months she’ll be locked up. [DesignScene]

- Cool-kids-about-town and adorable design duo, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler are starting their own costume jewelry line, set to launch during the pre-collection season. I’m assuming this won’t be Claire’s-level bobbles but I wouldn’t mind a PS tribal beaded necklace bunch. [WWD]

In the book’s introduction, Sally Singer, editor of T Magazine, is quick to point out that this is not your typical behind the curtains tome. That’s owed primarily to the fact that Julien Claessens is not a fashion photographer. In fact he admits that he doesn’t really understand fashion, but he understands his friend Olivier’s work.

So it’s no surprise that his photos aren’t perfectly-posed, editorial-ready snapshots, but abstract portraits that offer a glimpse into a world of extremes: extreme beauty, extreme bodies and an almost otherworldly charm. The star of these portraits, however, are still Theyskens minutely-crafted work.

Like malleable sculptures, Theyskens clothes wrap and drape themselves over the skeletal  frames of Lily Donaldson, Hilary Rhoda, Gemma Ward, Olga Sherer, Lara Stone, Tanya Dziahileva, Catherine McNeil and Sasha Pivovarova, lending a strength, elegance and sophistication otherwise at odds with their prepubescent fragility.

The Other Side of the Picture chronicles Theyskens career chronologically, ending before he began his newest phase at Theory, but Nina Ricci’s Fall/Winter ’09 collection is a fitting denouement, both for the book and for Theyskens time at the brand. That particular collection is the peak of Theyskens craft and a comforting reminder that talent like his shall and will not be wasted. Also, I’m still not over these tranny heels:

Julien Claessens, without understanding fashion, is able to completely grasp the work of Olivier Theyskens. As Claessens says about his friend’s work, “There’s something here that is part of my universe.” His clothes speak, live and breathe through Claessens’ photos because Theyskens intended them to speak, live and breathe on the women he dresses. Claessens and Theyskens simply speak the same language.

What owning this book says about you: You’re a serious-minded fashionista who admires Olivier’s dark aesthetic and/or his dark hotness.

What your dinner guests will say upon seeing this book on your coffee table: “Oh, wow, someone’s pretentious. And fabulous.”

How this book will make your fashion brain grow: Though you’re not likely to gain much in the way of knowledge from The Other Side of the Picture, you’re heart will swell at its beauty.

If you like this, you’ll love: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. The book to the Met exhibit is on sale — having had a quick look at it this morning we can definitely say it is worth the 30 bucks (plus free shipping, y’all!)

Photos: Styleite

- But what does this mean for Burton and the McQueen brand? A series of industry insiders, retail experts and just plain know-it-alls agree that landing the royal wedding dress was a large coup for the Alexander McQueen label, particularly with the Met Costume Institute Gala and Savage Beauty exhibit opening this week. McQueen will become a household name — though it was already that in my household — and will now have a “guaranteed legacy” while “taming” the house’s trademark “edginess.” Sales are expected to go through the roof due to a new, heretofore unseen level of awareness for the McQueen brand and as for Burton; rumors are reaching a fever pitch over her possibly serving as a replacement for John Galliano at Dior. But with the spectacular success of the new Duchess’s wedding gown, PPR (McQueen’s parent company) would likely do everything in its power to keep her on…at least if they were smart they would. [WWD]

- Model Agency Wars! After Next Model Management sued Ford Models for allegedly poaching a trio of models — Karmen Pedaru, Anna Aleksandra Cywinska, and Anna J. — DNA has gotten litigious over Maryna Linchuk, whom they claim Ford “solicited and induced” to break contract. DNA’s result? They’re suing Ford for $2 million. Big game hunting in the wilds of the modeling world can get very expensive. [Fashionista]

The designer behind Miu Miu and Prada apparently only likes her girls one size: model.

While working on the upcoming production of “Attila” for the Metropolitan Opera, the designer reportedly refused to work on the “curvy” performers, stating that she only designs for the insanely thin.

“I cannot clothe them! I need models!” she reportedly groaned.

Apparently, the Met is now on the hunt for clothes hangers to give to the thin obsessed designer.

A rep for the opera company told the Post that casting “is at the discretion of the creative team. Due to a change in concept, the Met is in the process of recasting” some of the extras.

INSPIRATION 

REALIZATION

Armani Prive’s shiny satin seems like a perfect duplicate for the Silver Surfer’s metalic skin.

More superhero fun after the jump.

 INSPIRATION

 REALIZATION

Rick Owens body suit gives Batman a fresh update

INSPIRATION

REALIZATION

Dawnstar comes alive in a gown by Dior Haute Couture

INSPIRATION

REALIZATION 

Dolce & Gabbana brings Catwoman to life.

Christian Louboutin for Rodarte gives her claws.

 INSPIRATION

REALIZATION? 

Maison Martin Margiela’s body suit helps give Aurora a lift

 INSPIRATION

REALIZATION 

Poison Ivy gets some support from Nina Ricci.