>> THE MODELIZER —'Tis the season to change hair cut or color, it seems, and in that spirit, a few more shade-changers have emerged: Daria Strokous went brown to blonde, Coco Rocha switched in her vibrant red to black, and Kinga Rajzak traded her Goth girl look for a platinum pixie cut. [Oh So Coco, IMG Models Blog, The Room Magazine]

>> May was a whirlwind month for Karl Lagerfeld. He staged a cruise show in Venice, spent some time filming a ballerina while talking swans — "They are the meanest animals in the world, you know. I had problems with them as a child. They hate children. I was caught by one, so I know" — and how dancers are favorable to actresses — "Elena [Glurdjidze], she made everyone here [at the tutu fitting] happy today. And you don't get that from actresses, when they come, hmm? Elena has charm. Others, not so much. Don't ask me names."

Then, he finished up the month in Moscow — visiting the city for his first time ever on Thursday — for a presentation of Chanel's Paris-Moscow collection which first debuted last December; the show marked the first time a Chanel collection has been located in Moscow since 1967.

It must have been a short trip — he didn't even have time to do sightseeing at the Red Square and St. Basil’s Cathedral, which were near his hotel. “Moscow is a city I knew quite well without coming here because I’m an informed person — there are so many books, novels, photos, that in a way I know it . . . I have a feeling I know exactly what is in every museum,” Karl quipped.  He explained that he prefers imagining a place to visiting it: "You’re never disappointed by your imagination, but you can be very disappointed by reality.”

"I'm a computer." »

>> INSIDER WIRE —Matthew Williamson is joining Burberry in returning to London Fashion Week in September after showing for seven years — with the exception of one season — in New York. The occasion marks the move of London Fashion Week to its new location at Somerset House, plus the 25th anniversary of both the event and the British Fashion Council. With two coups in as many weeks, maybe Stella McCartney will be next? [Telegraph UK]

>> Rumors have been swirling about the status of Martin Margiela at his Maison since last year, and though chief executive Giovanni Pungetti avowed back in March that Margiela was "still in position," though had reduced his level of involvement to that of a consultant, critical reaction to the Fall 2009 collection which debuted that same month implied that there was no trace of Margiela the designer left.

Margiela arranged a meeting early last year with Raf Simons to discuss the possibility of replacing him, but Raf ultimately decided to stay at Jil Sander. Diesel, which bought a majority stake in the company in 2002, is also rumored to be interviewing candidates for the position — Haider Ackermann has been named as one.

Although a replacement has yet to be named, JC Report's sources confirm that Margiela is no longer a presence at all:

According to our source, Margiela and his Italian sales agent had created a pact very early on that if one left the company then the other would follow. Given Margiela's vocal dissatisfaction with Diesel's marketing approach and commercial distribution, it seems clear that the two are taking joint steps away from each other. As a follow up to this conversation, we were in contact with a designer of one of the numerous Margiela sub-brands, who simply stated: 'He has not been present since last season.'

>> THE MODELIZER —A couple of models turned up over the weekend sporting new, head-turning accessories: Alek Wek attended the Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Classic on Saturday wearing a neon orange cast on her forearm — the result of a shoot gone wrong, perhaps — and Lily Cole was captured in London this morning, wearing a ring on her engagement finger — the Daily Mail has pictures. [Fashionista, Daily Mail]

>> Last week, Christian Lacroix filed the equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a Paris court.  The resultant hearing, in which the court will decide to either restructure or liquidate the company, is expected this week.

In its 22 years of existence, the company has never once turned a profit, and in a letter to the house's 125 employees, Lacroix wrote that he is "not ashamed" to admit that he is owed money by the company — approximately $1.7 million — and has been designing "free of charge" for several months.

He pledged to give "200 percent" to keep the house afloat, and aims to “preserve the know-how, without which the lungs and the heart of the house couldn’t exist."  As for the fate of the Fall 2009 Lacroix couture show, which is supposed to be in early July, a spokesperson could only say: "Regrettably, I cannot yet confirm if the July show will be going ahead."

>> INSIDER WIRE —Plenty of news about the comings and goings at Vogue this morning: a staffer may have contracted swine flu, warns an internal memo sent out this morning; Steven Klein just shot another horse-centric editorial — this time for the August 2009 issue; and despite rumors to the contrary, it sounds like Rihanna won't be making the cover of Vogue anytime soon — her chances were ruined by a recent set of revealing photographs. [Daily Intel, AP, The Insider]