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Zac Posen is doing a line for Target! The collection will be in stores April 25-May 30.

korea, je t'aime

I love Korea. Like, love love. Although I've never actually been there, I feel like I go there all the time in movies and magazines. I adore K-Horror, I obsess over Korean fashion, and I've never met a plate of bulgogi that I didn't like. I know I shouldn't judge an entire people based on food, fashion and film, but let's be completely honest: If you're Korean, I probably love you. So it's no surprise that I'm a big fan of Vogue Girl Korea. I wish some of the magazine's joie de vivre would influence more teen media in the states.

the sincerest form of flattery

a new look from Forever 21 Collection

a Fall 2008 RTW Narcisco Rodriguez dress that Sarah Jessica Parker wore in American Vogue

Obviously, this isn't an exact copy, but when I saw the image on the front page of the Forever 21 site, the first thing that popped into my mind was this photograph.

pretty packaging

Kim Cattrall for Bailey's in a custom dress by Patricia Field

i want this suit for christmas, please.

I'm not really on the Twilight bandwagon (even though I love me some Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson), but I LOVE this Bottega Veneta suit worn by New Moon actress Ashley Greene. Soooooo jealous.

december 20 is so far away

This weekend, while helping a friend prepare for a photo shoot, I was able to check out some of the Rodarte for Target pieces in person. Didn't try anything on, but got a closer look at two of the party dresses (the black lace dress pictured above, and the frothy nude dress seen here), as well as the must-have sheer black lace cardigan and the lace-trimmed bra and undies. Judging from these pieces, the collection is impressively well made. I was quite taken with the quality of the fabric and the construction, considering this is such a mass-produced discount line. The dresses and the cardigan look just as great in person as they do in the photographs.

I'm a bit confused about the bralette and undies. Based on the promotional images, I truly thought the items were underwear, but they felt like a nylon/lycra blend, a pretty standard swimwear material. Not quite sure what to make of that. I've never really given lacy bathing suits much thought before, but I suppose if anyone can get me on the bandwagon, it's the Mulleavy sisters.

get ready

wait, what?

Did Carrie Underwood wear a bastardized version of PR contestant Carol Hannah's opening dress from her finale collection?

Carrie Underwood at the American Music Awards

Carol Hannah's opening look from her Project Runway collection

P.S. Wow, apparently I'm not the only one noticing. Check out Carol Hannah's response on Blogging Project Runway.

flame on!

and the winner is...

Last night marked the end of the sixth season of Project Runway. Well, it actually ended in February, but we finally saw it! Before I get to the finale, I'd like to send out a huge thank you to Hell's Kitchen. I had so much fun co-hosting l'étoile Fashion Trivia this year. It was great coming in every week, getting to know the staff, and drinking my weight in bellinis. And to the Fashion Trivia regulars (especially Christopher, who became our weekly guest of honor), thanks for coming by week after week and participating in what were sometimes brutally hard rounds, and humoring Kate and me by laughing at our lame jokes. You guys are the best! Now, on to the show. Carol Hannah was still sick. Althea was still an airhead. Irina was still "Meana." It was pretty much what we expected.

Carol Hannah's collection was the most disjointed of the three, containing some of the evening's highest notes (her blue Grecian 13th look) and the lowest notes (what was that horrible purple tunic-y thing?) of the episode. As per usual, her work was impeccably tailored. Her collection was the most colorful, and certainly the most fun.

Carol Hannah's beautifully draped 13th look

I really really want to wear this dress to Walker After Hours tonight.

Although I didn't quite get the inspiration of Althea's collection (she mentioned that that she was inspired by science fiction from the 50s and 60s, which I didn't see), I liked a lot of the individual pieces. It was great sportswear. And though I could see myself wearing multiple items, sportswear doesn't always translate the best to the runway. The collection didn't have any show-stopping numbers.

I do love the sweater from the opening look.

Althea's lovely and wearable 13th look

Irina's collection was a whole lot of black. What did it look like? I could barely tell, because it was almost all black. When she'd received critiques from Tim Gunn, as well as Nina Garcia and Michael Kors, it was mentioned multiple times that the collection could really use some color. When black goes down a runway or is photographed for an editorial, a lot of the detail is going to be lost. So when Irina sighed in sadness on the runway that you couldn't make out some of the intricacies of the collection, I was delighted that Nina called her out on it. It was a poor choice, and she'd been told in advance that it was a poor choice. But whatever, she won anyway.

Irina's 13th look

Nina thought the tees were "intimate." I thought they were lame.

The highlight of the episode was certainly guest judge, Suzy Menkes. I don't know how Lifetime managed to snag her, but what a coup. The woman holds an Order of the British Empire and a Legion d'Honneur in France. She is one of the most respected fashion writers of all time, talks like Mary Poppins, and rocks a pompadour. I love love love her. More judges like her, please.

Now that the finale has aired and Irina has been revealed as the winner, I'm extremely curious as to how this whole New York Magazine plagiarism scandal is going to go down. If you haven't heard, New York Magazine recently noticed that Irina used their "Reasons to Love New York 2008" on one of her pieces (image below). This is seriously shady intellectual property right business that obviously wasn't caught when the finale was recorded. How can Project Runway justify a winner who has blatantly plagiarized material? And furthermore, why did Irina (who, ironically, was regularly accusing Althea of copying her) even feel the need to use the New York Magazine article? How hard could it have been to brainstorm her own list of reasons to love New York and have those printed on her design? Who knows who this will end, but as The Cut pointed out, New York Magazine totally has their new softball uniforms.

more sad news

Jeanne-Claude, spouse and artistic partner of Christo, passed away last night. Her creative passion, innate talent, joie de vivre, and fire engine red hair will be missed.

"The Gates" in Central Park

"Wrapped Coast" in Sydney, Australia

"Surrounded Islands" in Miami, Florida

forever young

Daul Kim was found dead in Paris this morning. She was 20. The cause of death has not been released to the public, but rumors have already emerged that the young woman took her own life.

In addition to being a fantastic editorial model and a runway regular for some of my favorite designers (Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Rodarte), Daul recorded video diaries for New York Magazine during Fashion Week. I became a bit of a Daul's diary addict, not only because of the interesting glimpse her entries gave into the life of a model, but also because she seemed like such a genuinely sweet and funny person. She'll be missed.

backstage at Alexander McQueen

on the runway for Chanel

for Korea Numéro #0

shots of Daul after she first dyed her hair blonde

showing off her new style after chopping off her long blonde hair

backstage at Dries van Noten

on the runway for Chanel

on the runway for Chanel

on the runway for 3.1 Phillip Lim

backstage for Alexander McQueen

on the runway for Yigal Azrouël

backstage at Chanel

on the runway for Rodarte

on the runway for Louis Vuitton

backstage at Rodarte

backstage at Dolce & Gabbana

on the runway for Rodarte

backstage at Zac Posen

on the runway for Peter Pilotto

on the runway for Vivienne Westwood

Rest in Peace.