>> In the March 2008 issue of Vogue, premier retoucher of fashion photographs, Pascal Dangin, tweaked a total of 144 images, from ads to editorial spreads, and in The September Issue, which focuses on the making of Vogue's September 2007 issue, Anna Wintour definitely displays a reliance on retouching, asking Mario Testino to superimpose cover girl Sienna Miller's head from one shot onto her body in another shot, and requesting that a cameraman's gut from an editorial shot be diminished, to Grace Coddington's dismay: "Everybody isn't perfect in this world.  It's enough that the models are perfect."

When digital manipulation programs first came into use in the early '90s, reports Eric Wilson for The New York Times, art directors originally used them to create a heightened sense of reality like images achieved through movie special effects — "hyper real" style, as former The Face art director and current Love creative director Lee Swillingham coined it — as a reaction against the images of supermodels that looked too perfect. Editors weren't suggesting the resulting look be attainable, Swillingham explains: “We were trying to create a future fashion. You could do something that looked gritty and real or something that looked like plastic.”

Now, some major photographers are pushing for less plastic, more real »

>> INSIDER WIRE —More victims of the recession have emerged — apparently London designer Emma Cook, whose boots for Topshop have created a frenzy in their own right, is discontinuing her line next Fall, and Veronique Branquinho is closing her 11-year-old fashion house due to a sharp drop in Fall 2009 orders and a number of canceled orders and non-payments for Spring 2009.  It sounds like the latter will be devoting her time to her new artistic directorship at Belgian leather goods brand Delvaux. [Papermag, WWD]

>> CNN Asia sat down with Miuccia Prada in Seoul recently for her first TV interview in three years, putting together almost 25 minutes worth of footage.  They got the shy designer to talk about everything from hating "the cliche of fashion designers" to the stress of the job to her view on the acquisitions of Jil Sander, Alaia, and Helmut Lang — but unfortunately missed out on asking her about the lack of diversity on the runways.

In the first clip, Prada talks about her design philosophy:

Basically I think that sometimes [my designs] look strange and not perfect because I don't like things that are obvious, and so I always try to introduce something that is wrong, something that is different. Just beauty by itself is too easy.

It's very much about what I like, but also [about] analyzing what's trendy and why people like something and trying to find an ironic way to look at it from outside. For instance, when I did the lace [for Fall 2008], I asked why women always like lace.  [I] try to analyze the reason this is something [women] like at the moment [and] try to understand why things like pink roses, lace, animalia . . . women can't give up.

The videos! »

>> INSIDER WIRE —Marios Schwab was just named the new creative director at Halston, but apparently it's not the first job he's been in the running for: "This was my second or third time in talks with a house, and we’re living in such a weird time, I was skeptical that the Halston people would go with a relatively young, relatively conceptual designer." [Style File]

Trend de la Creme created a round up of fashions with a split personality...

The Bare Skinny fell in love with a pair of heels from L.A.M.B. and then found two similar styles for less. 

Trend Doll discovered an affordable clutch made from recycled laundry bags.

Fashion Binge detailed her finds at this week's Charlotte Ronson sample sale. 

>> Forbes just released their yearly list of top-earning models, and the top five is exactly the same for the second year in a row: Gisele Bundchen holds the top spot — which she's had for at least five years now — followed by Heidi Klum, Kate Moss, Adriana Lima, and Doutzen Kroes, respectively.

Emanuela de Paula is the only newcomer this year — which could be partially because the list was knocked down from the usual 15 models to only 11 this year — while a number of models disappeared from the rankings: Karolina Kurkova (who was ranked 6th last year at $5 million), Isabeli Fontana (11th last year at $3m) Gemma Ward (tied at 11th with Isabeli at $3m), Selita Ebanks (12th at $2.7m), Valentina Zelyaeva (13th at $2.3m), Hilary Rhoda (14th at $2m), and Liya Kebede (15th at $1.5m). Alessandra Ambrosio made a return to the list this year in 6th place, after dropping off last year.

So how is everyone holding up in the recession?  Gisele Bundchen posted the biggest loss, earning $10 million less in the June 2008-June 2009 period; Miranda Kerr and Carolyn Murphy are also earning less, but their losses are not as substantial. Doutzen Kroes is raking in the same amount, while Kate Moss, Adriana Lima, Natalia Vodianova, Daria Werbowy, and Heidi Klum are all estimated to be increasing their income compared to this time last year.

The full 2009 list »

>> ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL —Hedi Slimane partnered up with Prada to shoot their Spring 2009 menswear campaign, and it sounds like he's been hired again.  He was spotted scouting at Coachella last month — which is a normal practice of his — but now, word is he had a specific client in mind: Prada. [COACD Twitter]