FASHION Magazine

Let’s be clear about one thing: The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is not really about fashion. But we knew that, and anyway, it doesn’t really matter. Not to the hordes of young women that appear out of nowhere, pink shopping bags in hand, within a 500-metre radius of any of the lingerie titan’s locations. (There are eleven stores in Canada–four Victoria’s Secret and seven for their younger Pink line.) Not to the crowd that piled into the Armory on Lexington Avenue on November 10 to see the show–a group that included Gerard Butler, Adrien Grenier, Russell Simmons, Malin Akerman and Paris Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld. Not to every person who we’ve spoken to in the two weeks since who want to know how the Angels look up close (gorgeous, obviously), how much they have to exercise (Adriana Lima trains six days a week leading up to the show) and whether the wings are heavy (Candice Swanepoel‘s trainer give her extra shoulder exercises to prepare).

Matthew Williamson has been busy: The Brit has designed a capsule collection for online retailer Net-A-Porter, including seven of his most memorable dresses, and has announced a new diffusion line will debut in Fall 2011. [Elle UK]

The rumours are not true: Alexander Wang will not be collaborating with Nike–though he did consider it. The designer told WWD that the two parties had been in talks but the partnership fell through. “Nothing made it to market or will,” he confirmed. [The Cut]

Could an Anna Dello Russo book shot by Toronto superblogger Tommy Ton be in the works? If the flamboyant fashion editor’s tweets can be believed, then yes. “My next wish? Do a book with my whole collection of clothing by Tommy Ton.” [Fashinologie]

It’s always a treat to hear models speak. One who rarely seems to chat for the cameras is Kate Moss, so it’s a double treat to hear her talk about her collaboration with Longchamp, what keeps her grounded and her most poignant fashion moment. [Jezebel]

Yesterday at an event at Macy’s for Lourdes’ Material Girl line her mama Madonna revealed plans to launch a workout and lingerie collection for adults. [WWD]

Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte failed to show up at a ceremony at the White House, where they were to be honoured with the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for fashion design. A representative said there was a last minute change in plans and they had to attend a family obligation in Los Angeles. [WWD]

Holy eyeshadow batman! M.A.C and DC Comics plan to collaborate on a line of eyeshadows, blushes and lip colours inspired by Superwoman. [WWD]

The 81-year-old owner of London department store Harrods has decided it’s time to retire. Mohamed Al Fayed sold Harrods to Qatar Holdings, a private equity firm with links to Qatar’s royal family, for a reported 1.5 billion pounds. [WWD and Fashionista]

Supermodel Kate Moss and boyfriend Jamie Hince of The Kills have formed a band together. Recording is already in progress and one of the finished songs is a Velvet Underground cover. Kate the new Nico? Let’s just hope she can sing as well as she can strut. [NME]

Now that fashion week, the Globes and the Oscars are all done, we’ve been starved for serious red carpet action for the past couple of months. Last night’s Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala in New York at least promised to give us fodder for red carpet punditry. The theme was American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity–the exhibit currently on at the Met’s Costume Institute and the most awaited guest of the evening was the American fashion force Lady Gaga. She didn’t show up on the red carpet and the result was a mostly-expected line-up of dresses. (Though even Gaga wore an Armani bodysuit that was near-identical to the one she wore at the Oscars, so yawn.) Diane Kruger’s blazingly white Calvin Klein was the clear winner of the evening, but Gap’s “collaborations” with Rodarte, Sophie Theallet, Thakoon and Alexander Wang were an almost universal disappointment.

After the jump, features director Leah Rumack, fashion market editor Sarah Casselman and I dish on the best, the worst and the most, um, interesting ensembles of the night.