>> INSIDER WIRE —Is Louis Vuitton reviving the iconic Stephen Sprouse graffiti bags early next year?  Samples of the originals are being called in from various magazines, and Marc Jacobs is creating a new collection for Louis Vuitton, inspired by the original 2001 Sprouse collaboration, that will coincide with a retrospective Sprouse exhibition and be available when the exhibit opens on Jan. 9, 2009. [Fashionista]

>> We get plenty of insight into the minds of Marc Jacobs and Karl Lagerfeld, but as for the whimsical world of Alber Elbaz, there's not such an easy entree. 

A couple of weeks ago at the DNR/WWD CEO Summit, the designer delivered the keynote speech, revealing that he rushes home to watch Project Runway and works himself sick — literally — all while carrying on with his trademark wit.  Here's more:

He thinks of creating fashion like making French food.

"It’s like wonderful food, but with too much butter. I cut the butter from the recipe, and what I am trying to do with the clothes is taking all the know-how, the tradition, the secret of French couture but trying to update it."

He has a very supportive boyfriend.

"My boyfriend told me [of speaking], ‘Alber, don’t be very nervous, because you are not a CEO, so you don’t have to sound smart.'  I thought that this may be the biggest problem of our industry, that we don’t have to sound smart."

Designer Alber was almost Dr. Alber . . . »

>> INSIDER WIRE —If things keep up like they are now, I wonder if next May's Costume Institute Gala will be as extravagant as the last?  David Monn, the event planner behind the Costume Institute Gala, reportedly made $300,000 alone for his services . . . [Miami Herald]

>> Victoria's Secret may not have the cachet of say, Balenciaga, but it can make a model a millionaire.  Although the lingerie company is currently taking heat for its rash-causing bras, its event of the year — the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show — is still on schedule for taping in Miami Saturday night.

The Angels — Heidi Klum, Alessandro Ambrosio, Selita Ebanks, Doutzen Kroes, Miranda Kerr, Karolina Kurkova, Adriana Lima, Marisa Miller — will all be there, but more pressing: Who are the unnamed 30 models who have also been cast for the show? 

Fittings have been going on for the past week at least, and yet no names have leaked — the closest to a hint is this photo, above, of what appears to be Lara Stone in a Victoria's Secret outfit.  She's not your typical VS model, but the possibility of a multimillion dollar contract in the future is enough to make any model try something new.
*image: source

Our network partners have been doing their market work--with textiles research, beauty product reviews, and new brands to mention, they are surely keeping themselves busy.

The Coveted, always hip on the hipsters, wrote a narrative shoutout to Complex Geometries. The aesthetic reasoning is simple, she decides in the end. 

Tulle is also one of OUR favorite things, as silly as it sounds, and so we were happy to see Fashion Nation reporting on the bridal confections of a blogger as today's conversation. 

BellaSugar talked about that which we want to know but are too afraid to ask: how to use that mysterious black head extracting tool we've seen in the beauty parlor. 

Holiday Look Books from Lyell are like hot chocolate and a warm bath at the end of a long day. Stylebite knows how to treat her readers right. 

>> BLOWING THE COVER —Two blondes — Katrin Thormann and Toni Garrn — scored the Persona-inspired November 2008 Vogue Italia cover, and it sounds like Steven Meisel is on a blonde kick again for future issues: "five or six . . . blonde (and blonde-ish) girls — those fresh new faces that overlap with that certain coveted blue chip campaign — have all been flitting in out of LA for VI."  The new Prada girls, anyone? [TI]

A few weeks back WWD and DNR held a retail and apparel CEO summit in which some of the fashion industry's most powerful players gave speeches about the current economic crisis and possibilities for improvement. Alber Elbaz opened the floor up with a speech that touched on the emotional element of fashion and he wasn't afraid to be critical. Elbaz, in his speech, spoke about the closed, cold fashion industry and the need for emotion and collaboration in the modern fashion world. He said,

"I believe it's all about collaboration. It's all about dialogue. And this is what this industry is looking for. I am in many business meeting, and by the color of the ties, I know if the people have good news or bad news. Light blue and light green are always amazing news. If it's red, be careful. If they come with a black tie, you're out. These are exactly those kinds of formulas that I think it's time to change. Every time I meet today with business people, I see them looking down. I am always afraid that they are sad or maybe stressed with everything that is happening with the economy. I realize that it's not that. I realize that there is a BlackBerry and instead of looking straight they are looking down. And I am telling all you ceo's: Look into my eyes. Let's work together."

To see the wonderful Spring 2009 Lanvin collection, click here. To read more speeches, published today from the summit, click here.

We can't say for sure but we're putting our money on the notion that this just-in Alice McCall for Topshop Pac Man dress will sell out within the week--the woman has a way with color and print. Otherwise, the timing of this is apt because it was just this morning that we were searching through the Spring 09 archives and thought to put her photo gallery on the front page (we ended up with Proenza Schouler because the photos just worked with the colors on the front page--that, and we love Proenza very much.). McCall's Spring 09 collection wins the award, front page or not, for wow-ing us the most this season as we approached her show with the notion that things would be 'cute' and soon realized that they were not only cute but damn well made and wholeheartedly unique. That's not to say she hasn't always had this reputation, just that for some reason we thought or imagined otherwise. If you can't see yourself in the Pac Man dress just wait until her Spring collection hits the shelves. You can start drooling here.