Head of the Class — As and high Bs all around:

Lady Gaga in Mugler — Leave it to Gags to show up shitting tulle in a bodysuit, 24-inch tranny heels and an aquamarine wig. You don’t win the Fashion Icon award by resting on your Hussein Chalayan rebirthing egg laurels.

Daphne Guinness in Abed Mahfouz – Another member of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Tranny Heel, the always impeccable Daphne Guinness chose relatively unknown Beirut designer,  Abed Mahfouz to wonderful effect .

Kirsten Dunst in Patrik Ervell — I feel like I’m experiencing a Kirsten Dunst renaissance. First she wins the top acting prize at Cannes, now I actually like her choice in red carpet attire? What goes on here? Though honestly, I’m always a sucker for a woman in a tux and a high bun.

Karolina Kurkova in Diane von Furstenberg — An emerald, hooded jumpsuit, sashed at the waist? Karolina literally looks like the ghost of Grace Jones…and she very well might be since god knows where the hell that brick house full of crazy is these days.

Chloë Sevigny in Chloë Sevigny for Opening Ceremony — Leather and lace and giving face. Nothing’s wrong with a little free self-promotion, though her lady humps seem to be angling for some attention all their own.

Betsey Johnson in Betsey Johnson — Why the hell not? Betsey looks great — and in all black! — but the tulle ballerina skirt remains in tact, if only a few inches south. But for girls our age, Bets, everything ends up heading south eventually.

Chanel Iman in BCBG Max Azria — Lady and the vamp! Looks like Chanel and Karolina both hopped on the same 70s soul train, but with a bit of leg, a flash of cleav and a shoulder or two, Chanel is ready to steam up some mirrored disco balls.

Call me crazy just as long as you call Michelle Harper perfect. I’m not sure what she’s wearing, but I want one in every color.

Thanks for coming –  Solid effort, solid C‘s, high D‘s

Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen in The Row — I’m convulsing over MK’s gold lamé jacket, I just wish Ash had chosen to accessorize a little more. Hair up, statement necklace and a cat eye never hurt anyone. The Row bags, while cute, also look like mini-briefcases, which for an evening dress, is a little jarring.

Vera Wang in Vera Wang – Vera, Vera, Vera. While I love a cowl neck, this look makes Morticia Addams look like Patricia Goddamn Field. Where’s the color? Where’s the fun? I would’ve taken a beading wedding gown over this funereal frump any day of the week.

Erin Fetherston in Erin Fetherston — The CFDAs might have to instill a ban on designers dressing themselves. Though the dress is lovely — and that bang is flawless — the color washes Erin out completely. Also, another lack of accessories! Does no one wear jewelry anymore?

Expelled — Failing grades, F’s, you

Joy Bryant (and Rachel Roy) in Rachel Roy — For the permanent record, Rachel looks good, not her best look, but she gets a passing grade. Barely. Because after all, she also dressed Joy, who’s going to have to stay after school and bang the erasers. And from the looks of that dress, she might also be banging the janitor.

Tory Burch in Tory Burch — You can try to dress up a burlap sack as much as possible, but then it’s just a burlap sack with some awful polka dots and some even more awful ill-placed beads. Or bottlecaps. What are those actually?

Sessilee Lopez in Zac Posen — One question: why? An old lady dress on a stunning, young supermodel still looks like an old lady dress. And frankly, I doubt any dames of a certain age would be caught dead wearing this. It’s unflattering, there’s too much going on about the bodice and worst of all it looks cheap. Zac, I would like to see you in my office. Bring the butt paddle.

Photos: WWD, Style.com, NY Mag

- Sylvester Stallone time traveled back to 25 years ago when he was still relevant, liked what he saw and decided to start a clothing line. Never one to rest on his laurels, Sly’s line will be inspired by Rocky (“the gentleman”) and Rambo (“the rebel”). [Fashionologie]

- Dov Charney simply can’t help sexually harassing his employees. And they can’t stop trying to  sue his pants off. Of course, there are much easier ways to get Dov’s pants off — like saying “Hi, Dov. I’m basically legal.” [NY Times]

- Once upon a time, Abby Lee Kershaw was a little girl with a big dream. Though she looks like she belongs on an episode of My So-Called Life/Clarissa Explains It All,  one can see the potential that the Kaiser can’t seem to get enough of. [Stardust and Sequins]

- Sesssilee Lopez‘s mom has written a book “to help other parents help their daughters become high fashion models.” As a “super momager,” Janice Celeste encountered her fair share of the fashion world’s craziness, such as “one model who dipped cotton balls in orange juice and consumed it to feel full. Later it came out that she had anorexia.” Janice Celeste says anorexic, I say genius. [Fashionista]

-  After killing an intruder with a pink .38-caliber pistol, beauty queen Meghan Brown threw on some lingerie for a steamy photoshoot. Why? “I wanted to make some money. I wanted to capitalize on this. I’m the perfect example of why women should have a gun.” Then she asked if anyone had a problem with that while pulling a sequined pistol with lace trimming out of her cleavage. [The Daily]

- Kiki de Montparnasse wants you to get Kinky de Montparnasse while checking your mate with this sensual chess set with pieces made out of sex toys. Get your rooks off. [Kiki de Montparnasse]

- Chris Brown is “disappointed” in his actions after busting a window at Good Morning America‘s studios earlier this week after host Robin Roberts asked him about that little thing with Rihanna. Geez, you savagely beat someone up, get a restraining order against you and become a social pariah, and suddenly you can’t even throw a chair out of a window in peace. [The Daily Beast]

- And in celebration of Twitter‘s 5th anniversary (#OMG), Refinery29 has blessed us with their list of the 10 Most Annoying Types of Fashion Twitterers. They forgot “The Swag Slut” — The shallow, opportunistic media-whore who will do anyone and anything to get free stuff. Also known as @LesFabian. [Refinery29]

Video:

THE BLACKALLURE: VOGUE ITALIA / MODELS.COM BACKSTAGE EXCLUSIVE from models.com on Vimeo.

And head on over to Vogue.it for a moody editorial featuring Nina Simone and the girls putting a spell on us.

Link Love: Models.com

Italian Vogue‘s EIC, Franca Sozzani addressed the issue of discrimination in the fashion industry on her amazing blog last week, asking “Is skin color still an issue?”:

“We continue to give it [diversity] more space in the magazine and website. The truth is that real beauty doesn’t care for skin color or nationality.”

For Sozzani there is no issue of race, no issue of discrimination and she wonders why readers think it’s “such an issue to choose black models?”

Well, the answer is simple. For so long, beauty was defined by a specific type of girl; designers and magazines only chose skinny, non-distinct Eastern European girls which became the industry standard.

The trend is slowly shifting, but it’s difficult to change the perception of fashion being particularly racist when the industry itself is responsible for the proliferation of that perception.

So in reaction to this homogeneity, any time there is an editorial exclusively featuring black models the inevitable debate begins anew:  is this a matter of progress or exploitation?

I’d like to think it’s progress. It’s incredibly important and inspiring to see beauty represented in all forms and all colors, for society and for the fashion industry. Everyone needs to see themselves reflected in ads and editorials in order to feel beautiful and to feel that they too are respected consumers.

And furthermore, after looking at pale, emaciated human hangers for all those seasons, I think we could all use an injection of, dare I say, color.

Check out the rest of the editorial — a jazz-inspired romp through the Harlem Renaissance — shot by Emma Summerton and styled by Edward Enninful at Lookbooks!

Photos: Vogue.it / Link Love: Style House Files

VMAN Model Citizens

Hercules Magazine gives us the goods, courtesy of Nicola Formichetti and Mariano Vivanco. You may have seen the video (if not, what are you waiting for?), but the photos are equally as hot. And feature just as much naked Amanda Lepore.

Peek-a-boo, guess who? it’s Sessilee Lopez ensconced amongst all that man jock. Lucky tranny.

Always a lady, Madame Lepore keeps her heels on.

Next up we have Nils Butler, lensed by the legendary Steven Klein for Vogue Paris.

Glad to see he’s not afraid to show a little tail. Rimshot!

Next up we have Indonesian escort personal trainer  Zaidan photographed by Arno Roca, who apparently doesn’t believe in good lighting.

Seriously, can we shed a little light on this business, I can barely see what’s going on here.

And last, but certainly not least, Andrew Stetson and Chad White in their underwear.

Thank god Chad is so hot or his sneakers would totally kill the vibe.

I like to end it on a classy note. Happy ogling!

P.S. Looky look what I found. VMAN‘s winter issue is out November 11th, featuring the world’s best male models and here’s a little behind the scenes video.

It may not be Wednesday but it sure as hell feels like Hump Day.

LINK LOVE: Coute Que Coute , Homotography, WowWow.Me , YVY Mag

Backstage

A runway bereft of hoofers

Sessilee Strut

Follow the jump for more photos:

The Project Runway alum is beginning to come into his own, transcending the roots of his reality TV roots in his latest collection.

Read on for the review.

An hour before the show, the backstage area was tame compared to the storm of publicity that swept through once the front row took its seat, including my personal fave, Miss J. Alexander. Then the lights dimmed and Sessilee Lopez stomped out in the first look, a simple brown leather safari jacket and white pant.

Simplicity was not a central theme, though as graphic prints were slowly introduced and ornate gowns swept the floor. A collective gasp went up in the air when the finale dress came down the runway, a mass of tulle and ruffles whipped up into a fit of ecstasy.

The Haus of Siriano certainly knows how to do a statement gown.

The entire collection had an air of the 70s with a very palpable Halston influence throughout. The use of white and beige and the flow of the caftan-like dresses in particular come to mind. However, there was a lack of cohesion.

As Christian tries to grow his brand and be taken seriously as a designer, it’s understandable that he would try to do everything and appeal to everyone. But a little judicious editing might have resulted in a stronger collection.

Still, the young designer is coming into his own and this is no doubt his best collection yet.

Photography:  Steven Meisel

Styling:   Lori Goldstein

Models:  Agyness Deyn, Alla Kostromicheva, Aminata Niaria, Anna De Rijk, Anna Selezneva, Constance Jablonski, Daria Strokus, Freja Beha Erichsen, Frida Gustavsson, Gwen Loos, Hanne Gaby, Irina Kulikova, Iris Strubegger, Isabeli Fontana, Iselin Steiro, Monika Jagaciack, Jamie Bochert, Kamila Filipcikova, Karen Elson, Karlie Kloss, Kasia Struss, Kendra Spears, Lara Stone, Lily Donaldson, Liya Kebede, Magdalena Frackowiak, Mirte Maas, Natasha Poly, Patricia van der Vliet, Ranya Mordanova, Rianne ten Haken, Rose Cordero, Sasha Pivovarova, Sessilee Lopez, Sigrid Agren, Siri Tollerod, Snejana Onopka and Viktoriya Sasonkina

The shows are over and Sessilee is ready for Lincoln.

LINK LOVE: http://twitter.com/sessileelopez/statuses/4058425204

Photographer: Steven Meisel

Models: Anna Maria Jagodzinska, Ash Stymest, Christian Brylle, Jamie Bochert, Max Rogers, Sasha Pivovarova, Sessilee Lopez, Simon Nessman, Will Lewis

GALLERY: SPREAD UM: “Performance” Vogue Italia September 2009

Thanks Fashion Copious!

This gorgeous group pulls the signature i-D winky face, highlighting their colorful 80′s make-up. Similar to the looks from our For The Love of Marc Party, no?

SOURCE: The Fashion Time

Kindof true, I love that movie.

SOURCE: Sessilee Lopez’s Twitter

Photographer: Tom Munro

Model: Sessilee Lopez

GALLERY: SPREAD UM: “A Singular Style” Vogue Italia June 2009

Thanks Fashion Copious! 

Angela Lindvall

Lara Stone

Anna Selezneva & Sessilee Lopez

Carmen Kass

Carolyn Murphy

Catherine McNeil

Claudia Schiffer

Daria Werbowy

Doutzen Kroes

Edita Vikeviciute

Erin Wasson

Eva Herzigova

Frankie Rayder

Gisele Bundchen

Isabeli Fontana

Jessica Miller

Kate Moss

Naomi Campbell

Natalia Vodianova

Raquel Zimmermann

SOURCE

LINKAGE: V Magazine 59: Swimsuit Issue

Models Arlenis Sosa, Atuai Deng, Adriana Lima, Aminata Niaria, Giedre Dukauskaite, Kendra Spears, Karmen Pedaru, Sessilee Lopez, Anna Gushina, Liberty Ross & Ali Stephens all make appearances on separate covers for French Mag shot by Thierry LeGoues.

LINKAGE: Models

“Fashion is very black and white. It doesn’t pay attention to heritage much. They don’t see me as a Dominican girl. They just see the color of my skin. It can be hard, because it’s your heritage and you want to be appreciated for it, but it’s just modeling, so I don’t let it get to me.”

Thanks NY Mag!