For most people, fire is a destructive force. For Louisiana-born, Los Angeles-based John McAllister, it's a muse. Working from thousands of news photos showing flames ravaging homes, forests, and fields across rural America, McAllister has spent the last six years creating a series of luminous, realistically rendered oil paintings of his burning obsession. These form the basis for his debut exhibit at New York's James Fuentes LLC, which opens tomorrow. Porno for pyros? You be the judge.

Downtown destination boutiques are a dime a dozen these days, and New York's young and fabulous can be a fickle lot. How then to differentiate the merely cool from the must-see? Louis Terline, co-owner of Oak, may have figured it out: launch a limited-run, in-store magazine every season, featuring a different editor and a rotating cast of your hippest photographer/musician/artist friends. "Jeff [Madalena] and I are basically always doing everything," Terline explained at last night's second-issue fête for Oakazine at the Bowery Electric. "This is a project where the contributors can express their views on what we're doing." Current issue editor Brian Ware explained his aesthetic, along with the "dark" vibe going on. "Yeah, there's definitely a dark quality—the magazine really reflects that. There's an element of displacement right now, so things need to be recontextualized and manipulated." And what about finding the right contributors to suit that mood, i.e., Eileen Quinlan, the Shout Out Louds, and Anthony Goicolea? "Well, we're all friends," Ware says. "We start from the base and core and then it's like—what's that game called where you just know everybody? Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon! That's it!"

The times, they are a changin'. The California Supreme Court's support of same-sex marriage prompted Ellen DeGeneres' announcement that she and girlfriend Portia de Rossi plan to get hitched, while in Switzerland, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (we assume the name doesn't mean they just argue for the hell of it ) ruled that a double-amputee sprinter from South Africa can compete for a spot on his country's Olympic team. Jonathan Saunders' appointment as Pollini's new creative director isn't quite as inspirational a development, but it's exciting nonetheless, especially considering the dwindling job market. Turns out more would-be employees are getting virtual jobs as online merchants in alterna-realities like Second Life. Maybe the Marc Jacobs employee charged with grand larceny should look online for his next shop-boy gig (why he would take cash and not handbags is beyond us, but we're not criminally minded). What is criminal? Counterfeit handbags—and not just because they're tacky. A new ad campaign makes the case that buying faux Chanel is a lose-lose proposition.

More proof that the middle of the market is disappearing: J.Crew has a $3,000 jacket for sale, its priciest item to date. Part of the label's higher-end J.Crew Collection, the tortoise sequin jacket, as it's called, is an "opulent creation completely covered with shimmering French sequins—each one a unique shade of tortoiseshell, each sewn by hand to silk chiffon using a classic couture technique. Sound like a stretch for a brand that made its name reinterpreting WASP classics? Khakis and button-downs are clearly no longer the steady sellers they once were: The company is also selling fine jewelry, and come fall, will be opening a New York shop entirely devoted to Collection pieces.

Renowned industrial designer Yves Behar has been the force behind the look of Jawbone since it first launched in 2006. With its clean lines and invisible buttons, the first Jawbone pioneered a headset look that shook off all robotic science-fiction clichés. The newest version, which arrives at Barneys next week in either rose gold or matte black finishes, goes one better: It features all the latest tech updates, while being 50 percent smaller and extremely lightweight. Jawbone, $130, available at Barneys New York, (212) 826 8900.

Amid a blaze of chic chinoiserie and hot colors, Shanghai Tang launched its new flagship last night at 600 Madison Avenue. Guests—including Jacqueline Sackler, Chessy Wilson, Tara Summers, Jessica Joffe, and Kate Schelter—came in for a sneak peek at an ST outpost that's smaller and more focused than the ambitious, multilevel one that crashed and burned a few blocks up the street a decade ago. The brand has been working to reinvent itself with fresh talent: They've poached a print designer from Kenzo, and recently enlisted Lanvin alum Joseph Li to take the lead on ready-to-wear for Spring 2009. Claire Bernard, however, was ahead of the curve. She wore a Chinese-pattern dress to her Riverdale prom, she explained, much to her date's distress. Nor did she take the sexy silver Shanghai Tang number she had on last night all that seriously: "It's a modernization of the traditional dress—a.k.a. a traditional dress, just really, really short."

When Andrew Butler's first-grade teacher decided against the Grimms come story time and read Greek myths aloud instead, she had no clue that her choice would still be reverberating, almost 25 years later, through sound systems at clubs all over the world. But reverberate it does: Butler is now the presiding spirit behind Hercules and Love Affair, the New York-based band whose self-titled debut is destined to soundtrack the summer of 2008. Released to steady acclaim in Europe and the U.K. earlier this year and due out stateside on June 28, "Hercules and Love Affair" is a myth-inspired song cycle set to a disco beat—with the caveat that Butler works both lyrics and music to his own inventively romantic ends. The album's pedigree has already made it one of the year's spotlight releases—DFA Records impresario Tim Goldsworthy co-produced, and Antony of Antony and the Johnsons chips in vocals—but it's the passion lurking inside Butler's synthesized, sequenced songs that's making both critics and clubgoers swoon. On Saturday, the Hercules crew take over Studio B in Brooklyn for an Opening Ceremony-hosted show previewing the record; here, Butler talks to Style.com about his ongoing love affair with the dance floor.

This is the absolute lamest question to ask someone in a band, but I'll go for it: Where did you get the name Hercules and Love Affair?

Actually, the name is pretty central to the record; I took a lot of the imagery in the songs from Greek mythology, which has been an obsession of mine ever since my first-grade teacher started reading them out loud to us in school. But more specifically, the name comes from one of my favorite myths—it's a story about Hercules and a lover he had, a male lover he lost on a journey. There's a really intense description of Hercules as he's looking for this lost lover, and I so connected to that idea, the strongest man in the world at his most utterly vulnerable. That, and "Hercules and Love Affair, " sounds pretty disco.

Were you always a disco fan?

I've always been into club music, which came out of disco. But the more important influences are probably bands like Yazoo and Cocteau Twins. The music is electronic, but it's emotional, too; you relate to it on a personal level. My friendship with Antony is founded on a shared love of those bands. Before we ever recorded together, we'd just hang out listening to Cocteau Twins.

And the whole time, you were secretly plotting a collaboration?

I loved his record, and he knew I was a songwriter, too, but it wasn't until I wrote "Blind" that those pieces fell into place. I thought it would be interesting to hear his voice in a more synthesized context, so I brought it to him, and it worked. And then we kept at it.

You have a few different vocalists on the record—Antony sings, you sing; there's Kim Ann and there's NomI… Why so many singers?

Well, some of that's just happenstance. Kim and I were friends, and sometimes she'd be at my place when I was working on a song and needed to hear a voice on it. Nomi we approached more formally, at Antony's recommendation; she's usually more of a hip-hop girl, but I love how she sounds. Beyond the vocals, a lot of people got on board for the record—we recorded a whole horn section, for example, and drums and bass and rhythm guitar, a whole live band. They're all coming on tour with us, it's going to be a real show. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm a big believe in collaboration and getting as many good people involved as possible. Like, the DFA guys are going to deejay at Studio B on Saturday, and Opening Ceremony is hosting the show, and promoting it at their store… I like to use my community. That doesn't happen enough in New York these days. Maybe we can bring it back into style.

First there was Dia: Beacon, the highly praised adaptation of an historic printing factory into a world-renowned contemporary art museum. Now, there's Electric Windows, the second factory-turned-art destination to grace this idyllic Hudson River Valley town. Situated in a former electric-blanket factory at the foot of Mount Beacon, the aptly named Electric Windows is a 12-month-long art installation that will use the factory's two dozen 8x12-foot windows as the frames for 24 different works of art. A mix of local and internationally acclaimed street, Pop, and graffiti artists will gather in Beacon this coming weekend to create live artwork and subsequently install it onto the building's exterior. With the concept of exhibition turned on its very head, art lovers from far and wide are sure to flock.

In just a few hours, Chanel will unveil its Resort collection at Miami's Raleigh hotel, and we'll know if Lady Amanda Harlech is wearing recently acquired vintage. Lagerfeld's muse was spotted this afternoon looking for black dresses in North Miami Beach at C. Madeleine's, a 10,000-square-foot store founded by ten years ago by Madeleine Kirsh, which bills itself as "one of the fashion wonders of the world." (And it is—it's going to take a miracle to pay off the bill I ran up after spending several hours there this afternoon.) The clothes are organized in vignettes: there's a high-end designer section; one for Sinatra-era beaded evening dresses; and options for brides, bohemians, and those nostalgic for the eighties. A cloth tent transforms one part of the store into a kind of exotic souk, where you might find curled-toe Indian slippers, paisley throws—or Kirsh practicing yoga. "Did I tell you that I'm here 24/7?!" she asked. For more information on C. Madeleine's, see www.cmadeleines.com.

Miami's cozy-yet-chichi Casa Tua was subject to a French invasion last night. The occasion was a private dinner for Karl Lagerfeld, who's in town to show the Chanel Resort collection. Diane Kruger, Joana Preiss, Irina Lazareanu, and Michel Gaubert were among the Francophones in attendance, along with Brad Koenig (the subject of Lagerfelds's latest book), and Zoë Kravitz. The evening's most visible table hopper was none other than the guest of honor, who, with his whole group, moved from an inside location to a large round table underneath lantern-hung trees. Chanel face Anna Mougalis, who will make her directing debut next year, stopped to chat about Miami. "You can walk everywhere and there's space for fare niente. It's a lot of fun to see the grandeur of the Art Deco buildings and in front of them people with fake lips, boobs, asses—it's very today. The hotels have been renovated and people are redoing the architecture of themselves."

As Beijing prepares to welcome the world to the 2008 Olympics, Nike has been busy preparing the kit for the athletes vying for glory. Monday's extravagant unveiling of the Chinese Federation's Olympic uniforms in the Forbidden City represented a successful merging of the old and new, with cutting-edge technology and innovation blending with the imagery and heritage of one of the world's most ancient civilizations. All of which ties in rather nicely with Nike's latest line of products: the new Nike Sportswear range (a moniker that pays homage to the original 1979 line). The new line seeks to reinvent the classic products that have defined the brand over the years by using innovative new technologies, as well as drawing on elements of inspiration from the forthcoming Beijing games. Style.com sat down with Nike Sportswear's creative director, Richard Clarke, to get the lowdown.

You're starting off with eight products…

Well, it's a lot more that eight. What we really wanted to do was highlight the eight icons, which are the benchmarks of innovation in our company. Nike Air Max, for example, was one of the first shoes that used air cushioning. So we're starting off with the benchmarks of innovation, but they are many more products that have been remastered.

And eight's a fairly good way to start, given that it's such an auspicious number in this country. Is there more Chinese inspiration in the line?

The main inspiration, on a grander level, is the innovation behind Nike. It's what we are as a company, and it's what's driven us for over 36 years, the fact that we're pioneering new products in terms of sports. So we can take a heritage style, a new style, and blend it into one. Air Max is a design exercise, but it's also a functional exercise, as to how we can improve on that design. So we're commenting on a continuum, rather than being inspired by one single thing.

More specifically in terms of what we're looking at in front of us now, though, there is a distinct homage paid to China here. The Air Force 1 with the "Bird's Nest" stadium detailing, for example.

From a seasonal perspective, obviously the Olympics is of enormous significance, whether that comes from the Bird's Nest, or the number 8, with the octagon detailing. The Olympic Stadium and the Aquatic Center, from a design perspective, are extremely inspiring. But what's also inspiring is what's happening here, with the juxtaposition of new and old, and also the hybrid between these two different areas. You have new buildings and structures alongside old buildings, and this blended form creates a hybrid.

What's your favorite product?

The Flywire Windrunner is really amazing, mainly because of knowing how it's made, and the fact that it weighs only 116 g (four ounces). We've taken the Flywire innovation in footwear and played around with structures. The octadot dunk is also really cool and inspiring, and it demonstrates innovation from the optical point of view, with the octadots blurring to represent speed. The products aim to balance both the emotional and physical ways we can enhance an athlete's performance.

With all the emphasis on performance, do you worry about compromising the aesthetic?

We've got the benefit of providing both of these: performance and aesthetics, the same way we're able to combine a heritage line and a new line. We're focused on the athletes, and this exhibition is a reminder of that. You shouldn't have to give up your personal sense of style to perform as an athlete. This body of work represents how we allow individuals and athletes to perform using their own self-expression through innovation and design.

George Balanchine's impact on contemporary ballet can't be overestimated, but the rigidity of his teaching is often criticized. Israeli-born and Los Angeles-based artist Elad Lassry's untitled super 16mm film, which goes on view at John Connelly Presents in New York today, joins the debate on whether Mr. B liberated the medium, exploited his dancers, or did both. In Lassry's video, New York City Ballet dancers Megan LeCrone and Ask La Cour perform the pas de deux from Balanchine's 1957 "Agon." The cameras remain fixed at specific points stipulated in dancer and choreographer Doris Humphrey's diary of observations, which was published after her death in 1958, as "The Art of Making Dances." As the two dancers move in and out of the frame, it seems as if Humphrey were a ghost watching the progression of dance under Balanchine.

Depressed about McCain's five-year Iraq withdrawal timeline? In fashion years, that's a lot of seasons (and there's one more coming…). Lift your spirits with an endorphin boost courtesy of Wii Fit, the virtual trainer (Nintendo execs hope) women will want a piece of when it hits stores next week. And in answer to that age-old question, what to wear to Wii? J.Crew has some sporty new options. If you prefer a partner for calorie-burning, Reem Acra takes dance classes in midtown. We're guessing Miss Acra doesn't take Global Pop in zip-up Louboutin stilettos, but Victoria Beckham (a dancer by trade, let's not forget), likes, nay, needs to be in heels to get through the day. She and Celine Dion should chat. The Vegas chanteuse has more shoes than the Jolie-Pitts will soon have kids.

Racing fans who can't make it down to Pimlico on Saturday consider a trip to the American Museum of Natural History instead. This weekend, the museum opens "The Horse," a new exhibit exploring the ancient relationship between horses and the humans who couldn't have developed modern agriculture, cities, or warfare without them. The dioramas dedicated to equestrian sports such as polo, fox hunting, and thoroughbred racing point up the horse-y influence on fashion, as well—Carolina Herrera's Fall show, to wit—in addition to serving as a useful reminder to get bets in on the Preakness. Post time is 6:15 p.m.

On the eve of his Chanel Cruise (as he prefers to refer to it) collection in Miami, Karl Lagerfeld sat down with Style.com between fittings to talk about his reading list, decorating projects—and the Anna Wintour shoulder.

How has the idea of resort collections changed?

It's not Resort anymore. It's another collection—in the story of Fall, pre-Fall, Paris/London, pre-Spring, Spring—called "cruise." It's like a code name, but the thing is that Chanel needs six ready-to-wear collections a year, every two months completely new things at the shops. There are hundreds of shops all over the world that have to have something new all the time or else there's no reason to go back. Or else you go to a place like Colette where they see 100 labels. If it's one label, this label needs to have something new all the time.

Why Miami?

The answer is very simple, because apparently [holds up a page from the April 24 issue of WWD showing that Florida is "the domestic and international destination most booked by travel agents for summer 2008"]. Plus, you know, there was never a relation between [Coco] Chanel and Miami, so we make one. [We're interrupted by the arrival of model Iekeliene Stange in a black-and-peach satin dress with one very special feature, which Lagerfeld then explains.] This is called the Anna Wintour shoulder—it is like the things she had at the Met. It was invented for her.

What are you reading?

"Diva: Defiance and Passion in Early Italian Cinema." I will show you; you may laugh, but it's very interesting if you know all about Italian silent movies and the concept. It's a quite difficult book—it's not a novel, it's not a biography. " Women Who Write" and "Brilliant Women: 18th Century Bluestockings." Now we have blue tights!

Any summer plans?

I go to Monte Carlo and Saint-Tropez because I have a house there—and you know, [they are] not too far away. I've traveled enough this year—going to China twice and all that.

Are you doing any decorating these days?

Yes, I just finished my place on the Left Bank, which will be only in American Vogue and nowhere else. I am shipping my furniture that I collected from my apartment in New York in Gramercy Park and then I'm doing a town house in Paris for guests—but I don't live there. I'm doing a mix that I've never done yet. My private place is very, very, very modern: nothing done before 2000. No art, only glass and light. It's on the river, but I have to stay away from the windows because the [touring] boats, they [come by and] say, "and here lives Madame Chirac…" Thank God I'm not there all the time. So I bought next door a house, where I can mix eighteenth century with all the things from Art Deco and modern things. Mixing eighteenth century and Art Deco was never done like this. I have beautiful furniture from the eighteenth century: very, very French.

If beauty is indeed in the eye of its beholder, we're curious to see who's picking up the Rufus specs (named for Rufus Wainwright) created by L.A. Eyeworks. "It's being snapped up by women as often as it is by men," says the brand's communications director, Brent Zergler, of the best-selling model. "Not only does it sidestep the current fad for retro shapes from the fifties, it jumps ahead to the street-savvy shapes of the late seventies and early eighties. It's not new wave, it's next wave!" Other acetate, titanium, and assorted opaque monochrome silhouettes unveiled earlier this week by co-founders Gai Gherardi and Barbara McReynolds at the eyewear fair in Milan include Sontag (as in Susan), Arbus (as in Diane), and Silver Lake and Eagle Rock, both of which pay homage to L.A. neighborhoods. For more information, see www.laeyeworks.com.

Josh Sparks, Imitation's new owner, has given fresh life to a company whose 2001 debut show was held in an East Village funeral parlor. Matt might be gone, Tara may be history, and vintage redux is a thing of the past, but one thread that binds the Imitation of old to the new is a fascination with the theme of resurrection, which will be the subject of a collaborative photographic exhibition that launches on Friday at the National Arts Club. Participating artists, including Mark Borthwick, Cass Bird, and Katerina Jebb, were invited to explore the theme in any way they liked, so long as they used one Imitation garment in their work. "I don't care if they burn it," Sparks said. "This is not a commercial project or a fashion campaign." What it is, he explains, is a reaction to a collective, "visceral need for resurrection—culturally, politically, economically, and environmentally." The project also has more pragmatic ramifications: The photos will be auctioned on June 3 to benefit the National Art Club's outreach programs.

As the parade of models made their exits at Monday night's Dior Resort show, our eyes were on 18-year-old Arielle Pytka, who made her runway debut with the air of a seasoned pro. Perhaps the confidence stems from a lack of pressure; Pytka considers herself a full-time artist first and a model second. The lanky L.A. native is adept at channeling her passion into her work—a surfing hobby led to being named the face of Roxy last year.

What qualities does the color blue have that best illustrate feeling blue? Questions like this were the inspiration behind German animation artist Sebastian Buerkner's new solo show at London's Showroom gallery. His aim is to represent different emotions through movement, and to this end he uses speed, weight, color, form, and clarity of line to illustrate the feeling of, well, feelings. Using flash, Buerkner hopes to unlock each viewer's subconscious and in the process carry out a high-tech form of hypnosis. So, the next time you feel an irrational mood swing, you can blame it on the emotional trigger of a particular hue, which sounds much saner than putting it down to an irritating colleague or bad lunch experience. Or at least more scientific.

Unsubstantiated baby rumors are a must for newlyweds. Mariah and Nick are almost definitely maybe not expecting, and Beyoncé is conspicuously not on the Def Jam detox. If the rumors are true, in Beyoncé's case we know how she'll dress her brood. Dust off your copy of "Unzipped," a revival of the fashion documentary is imminent, with Coco Chanel and Valentino both set to get the star treatment. We trust that Vanessa Paradis, one of a few future Mademoiselle Chanel portrayers and the new face of Miu Miu, will be able to keep her fashion houses straight. For an immediate real-life fashion-on-film fix, may we direct your attention to that venerable network, the CW, where reality TV is about to come out of the closet.

For almost 60 years, illustrator Edmond Kiraz's "Parisiennes"--the title of his first-ever retrospective, which opens today at Paris' Musée Carnavalet—have been the embodiment of the stylish fille. His iconic women, with their wide-set eyes, button mouths, and serpentine figures, have appeared in international publications and ad campaigns (Perrier, Nivea) and were for three decades a regular feature of the now-defunct weekly Jours de France. Whether pouting alone in her boudoir or striding down the sidewalk with an armful of shopping bags, the Kiraz girl is incontrovertibly chic: arch, swishy, frivolous to the core. Her appeal is heightened by Kiraz's droll and affectionate brand of satire, which is teased out in captions that fall somewhere between the bubbleheaded and the brilliant ("Nymphet to her date: 'There are many different women in me. How can you expect me to be happy with one man?' "). The show, which runs through October 26, features some 230 watercolors, gouaches, illustrations, and related archives and documents, as well as a separate room for the racier renderings Kiraz has been doing for Playboy since 1970.

New Yorkers owe Charlotte Ronson and Chrissie Miller a debt of gratitude: The two designers scheduled their Summer Lovin' party at Blue & Cream for yesterday evening, and lo and behold, yesterday morning, summer finally obliged. Emboldened by the suddenly seasonable weather, partygoers lined up by the two Mister Softee trucks commandeered for the event, and, treats in hand, stuck to the streets outside the shop to swap licks. "We wanted there to be a nice street-fair atmosphere," explained Miller, Ronson's longtime pal and the designer of Sophomore. "Like, we were planning a kind of miniature bike rally, too, but then it would probably rain, so we dropped it. Another time…" According to Ronson, a nail art stand had been planned and scrapped as well. "The airbrushing lady flaked at the last minute," Ronson explained, showing off her own neon, leopard-spotted fingertips. "Which is kind of a bummer, but at least we got the sun to come out."

"You like fashion? You like my shoes? Well, good!" announced a sequin-catsuit-clad Beth Ditto from the stage at last night's Alexander McQueen party in Los Angeles. She then kicked off her heels and serenaded her way through the crowd, pausing to take snaps of the guests. The Gossip front woman joked that she'd just signed a million-dollar modeling contract with Wal-Mart before proceeding to do some modeling of her own, changing into a sheer butterfly-print caftan. She was overheard enthusing about her second ensemble to producer Rick Rubin, insisting, "You should get one of these, you need one of these!" At which point Rubin responded, "I know, I know. I've already got one!"

Though Morgan Yakus and Karin Bereson of the Nolita boutique No. 6 have been content to let the label they co-design fly pretty much under the radar for the past couple years, the duo are now quietly giving their summer collection a little overdue publicity. In honor of the expanded range produced for the season, frequent No. 6 collaborator Duncan Hamilton shot a ten-second film of the collection, set to samples of the Who, that just went up on the label's site. "I think there's an ease to our designs that the girls who shop at the store really appreciate, and summer felt like the right season to do more, because that's when people are looking for things that are easy to wear," says Yakus, a former stylist who once ran her own vintage stall at the Portobello Market in London. According to Bereson, who also worked as a stylist prior to launching No. 6, the aim is to grow the line without losing any of its intimacy. "We're keeping it about the same size for fall, but adding more hidden details, and subtlety in the patterns, she explains.

A photo, as they say, is worth a thousand words. Give or take: There have been at least a million words wasted on that Miley Cyrus snap in the current Vanity Fair, and about all those camera phone shots of your weekend in Tijuana, well, the less said the better. At any rate, there will be plenty to talk about, and deservedly so, at the first edition of the New York Photo Festival, which kicks off today in DUMBO. Spearheaded by powerHouse Books impresario Daniel Power and VII Photo Agency's Frank Evers, the festival comprises four curated pavilions and a host of satellite gallery exhibitions, and will also feature interactive photo fun along the lines of seminars, book signings, and workshops. The aim, according to organizers, is to give New York City—long a breeding ground for great photography—a photo festival worthy of the town, one that can eventually rival the annual standard-bearing one in Arles. About 100,000 visitors are expected to attend the inaugural event, which continues through the weekend. For more information, go to www.nyphotofestival.com.

"Fashion design is our calling card," said FIT president Dr. Joyce F. Brown last night, just before this year's graduating class sent 100-plus looks down the runway (the school has more than 10,000 students, hence the healthy size of the show). Industry luminaries, including Anna Sui, Dennis Basso, and Arnold Scaasi, had earlier vetted the work, giving marks for creativity and execution. If the eveningwear segment was one of the most robust, the work of the knitwear designers was particularly accomplished. This is one case where purls beat out bling.

Some 400 women gathered yesterday at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell's Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology's annual fashion show fundraiser at Cipriani to support a cause and peruse Badgley Mischka's Fall 2008 collection. After lunch, the design duo trotted out looks inspired by the edgy seventies glamour of Bianca Jagger. "A lot of layering, a big focus on our accessories this season. It's such an important season for costume jewelry and hats," James Mischka said backstage. "[Bianca] dressed really beautifully, but she's also very sexy and a little bit of a rebel at the same time." Case in point: "I remember we did a bridal collection for Bergdorf Goodman and she bought some of the bridal dresses as evening gowns."

A $4,000, crystal-encrusted coffee percolator; crystal-fringed bathroom towels; and wedding invitations encrusted with Islamic-inspired crystal insignia: If Monday night's Crystallized Swarovski Elements wedding exhibition was anything to go by, "credit crunch" is a term unfamiliar to Dubai's brides to be. As part of a black-tie event held over two floors of the Raffles Dubai hotel, the Middle East's Gulfstream jet set were treated to a tour of the ultimate blinged-out bridal suite, followed by a Champagne reception among specially commissioned, crystal-laden gowns from the likes of Vera Wang, Elie Saab, and John Galliano. West London party girl Alanna Boylan, set to marry this fall in Italy's Villa Durazzo, where Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster tied the knot, was royally impressed: "Dubai is the perfect setting for a bride to be to find inspiration for her wedding. Some might call it vulgar, but if you can't act like a princess on your special day, when can you? At this rate, my guests are going to need sunglasses."

We know you all know about the hat. But if it's the shoes you'll want (and you will want them, if the "SATC" movie makes good on its "Super Bowl for women" threat), you'd better claim that Proenza pair right now. It's practically de rigueur to have a foot fetish these days, so there's no need to be shy. If this much ink was spilled over the "Sex and the (Wrong) City" premiere, we may have to hire some high-paid interns to help us cope with the bound-to-reach-an-unbearable-fever-pitch New York debut. Speaking of ink, Brad's got a new tat, possibly of the New Orleans levee system. For another feather in that do-gooder (possibly Philip Treacy-designed cap), Brad, recycle your wine corks. Saving the planet is so much more fun when you've got a little buzz.

Our tipsters were right: Monday night's Dior Resort show did include the Charlize/J. Lo/Xtina trifecta—and Lauren Hutton, Jacqueline Schnabel, and Lou Doillon were there, too, just for good measure. With that kind of star wattage, the excitement didn't stop with the show's finale. (This was a good thing, as the pool runway and exit ramp at Guastavino's wasn't quite long enough to accommodate the entire brigade of models, causing a makeshift, but still gorgeous, saunter backstage for the girls.) Down the stairwell, Dior continued the party with cocktails and canapés. Lopez, never out of squeezing distance of hubby Marc Anthony, mouthed along to the Madonna lyrics (did she get an advance copy of the very recently released album? Or is she just a quick learner?), and "Gossip Girl" 's Leighton Meester, in a tiered bright green Galliano creation, was overheard explaining how thrilled she was to get a personal invite from the designer himself. But the biggest fashion moment came when Fabiola Beracasa introduced Tallulah Ormsby-Gore to John Galliano. Tallulah, the daughter of Galliano's former muse Lady Amanda Harlech (before she famously and scandalously decamped for Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel posse), was wearing a logo T-shirt from one of the designer's early collections, when her mum still poked around his studio. "Oh, yes, I remember that shirt," the designer told the fashion progeny. "And it brings back so many memories. How great to see it again."

"I am so thrilled to be here in London," gushed Sarah Jessica Parker at the "Sex and the City" premiere in London's Leicester Square last night. Judging by the near delirious reaction from the hundreds of frenzied fans lining the red carpet, the feeling was mutual. The evening turned into a celebration of all things British as SJP did an impersonation of an English garden in a leaf green, horticulturally themed Philip Treacy hat and a crinolined Alexander McQueen dress, while Kim Cattrall tipped her cap to Vivienne Westwood in one of her cherry red numbers. At the after-party at Soho's Green Carnation, the star of the show was Patricia Field, who was mobbed by press as she made a late entrance. None of the guests, including Jo and Leah Wood, Lily Cole, Henry Holland, and Daisy de Villeneuve, seemed bothered by the tardiness as they sipped Champagne cocktails served by bare-chested men in sparkly gold masks. Holland, for one, was in raptures about the film: "It was really good, better than I thought it would be," he said. As for hosting the party at the Green Carnation, a relatively unknown and decidedly camp venue, rather than, say, Bungalow 8, the designer approved. "It's quirky, kooky, and 'Sex and the City' is too—which is perfect for London. We like being a bit rough around the edges."