We don’t know what it is, but all these things just fit.Photo: Imaxtree, Getty Images

Highlights from the Jean Paul Gaultier show today include:

1. The crocodile overalls, worn over fur.
2. The Magnum comdoms handed out for free before the show.
3. The furs, which are sure to have PETA loading up on extra fake blood right now.
4. Unlikely showgoer Mickey Rourke, who had a prime, front-row seat but relinquished it for the fifth row when the show started so that he could talk to fans.
5. The crocodile overalls.
6. The highly caloric and fattening chocolate-covered ice-cream bars girls tried to feed guests before the show. Update: The Magnums are actually the name of the ice cream bars.

See a complete slideshow of the fall 2009 Jean Paul Gaultier couture collection.

Gisele, May 2004.

• A public memorial service was held in Paris yesterday to mark the first anniversary of Yves Saint Laurent’s death.

• Topshop, Chanel, buberry scarf, and Forever 21 were ranked most likely to flourish in the recession in a new survey.

• Rumor has it British magazine The Face might come back next year. It closed in May 2004.

• Queen Elizabeth II awarded handbag designer Anya Hindmarch the Member of the Order of the British Empire medal yesterday for her contributions to the fashion industry.

• Kimora Lee Simmons and Djimon Hounsou named their new baby boy Kenzo Lee Hounsou, after the retired Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada.

• Christian Louboutin was spotted eating dinner the other night at Boqueria in Soho!

How was he not sweating bullets?Photo: Patrick McMullan

Anna Wintour must not have minded that Morley Safer likened Karl Lagerfeld to Count Dracula in his 60 Minutes profile of her. Anna’s guy Friday, André Leon Talley, tells Mediabistro she loved it.

André reports Anna was "thrilled" with the piece. "It’s 60 Minutes — she was on the same show as Secretary Gates. It was fabulous," proclaimed Andre.

But then again, what wouldn’t Anna have liked? Though he told her to her face that people call her a "bitch," Morley said arguably worse things about designers than Anna. Aside from the remarks about Karl, he said John Galliano needs a new tailor. André admitted that Safer’s remarks were "a bit dismissive." But the editor might consider himself lucky for escaping Safer’s scathing judgments. What would Morley have said of the mauve crocodile coat and purple velvet slippers André wore to the Diane Von Furstenberg resort show yesterday?

Lunch: André Leon Talley Stops By — and Hugh Jackman is Coming Tonight! [Fishbowl NY/Mediabistro]
Related: Morley Safer Asks Whether Anna Wintour Really Is ‘Darth Vader in a Frock’
60 Minutes Outtakes: Anna Wintour on Fur, Photoshop, and Obese People
 

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough and we’ll be more content when they are. After that we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with, we will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire. The truth is there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when?

Your life will always be filled with challenges. It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D Souza.

He said, “For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.“

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way, so, treasure every moment that you have. And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time…and remember that time waits for no one.

So stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you’ve had a drink, until you’ve sobered up, until you die, until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy…Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

So…Work like you don’t need money. Love like you’ve never been hurt and Dance like no one’s watching.??

Philip LimPhoto: Getty Images

Phillip Lim presented a rock-and-roll-inspired collection in the tents this afternoon. Whereas designers like Betsey Johnson and Vera Wang are showing off-site to save cash, Lim showed in the biggest (and most expensive) tent space with live musical act Lissy Trullie. Lim told us backstage after the show that he "can’t complain" about business these days, noting "no one’s immune" to the economy. Indeed, Lim’s line ought to thrive in these times. Like Alexander Wang, his price points are lower than most high-end designer pieces — something Bergdorf women’s fashion director Linda Fargo told us she’s especially looking for this season.

He’s not laying people off. "We actually gave Christmas bonuses. Celebration!" he trilled. He said spending the cash for the space in the tents was worth it, because IMG makes life easy and he can do things like have a live band. "There’s so many different variables that can go wrong and you’re just adding more layers to it. Fern Mallis and IMG — they make it so easy," Lim said. "I’m like, ‘I want to do this,’ and I’m thinking, ‘No way.’ But they’re like ‘do it!’" Nothing went wrong in Lim’s show. Model Hyoni Kang had to take off her shoes to complete her walk, but barely tripped. "She picked herself up and dusted herself off and pretended like nothing ever happened — is that rock and roll or what?" Lim said. How would he have felt if she fell? "Falling is a different story. I’d be mortified. Because I can’t even imagine everyone looking at you, you know?"

I finally finished my wedding scrapbook!!! WOO HOO!!! Here are just a few of the pages. Now I can FINALLY cross another item of of my list!

My Bridal Shower…Me and My Mom, Me and Both Grandmas, Me and My Maid of Honor

Limo Ride to the Ceremony with my Maid of Honor, Angela

The Cake Cutting

Mr. & Mrs. (two of my favorite pics)

Photo: Courtesy of John Derian

Admittedly, we have a certain penchant for dated wares — well-preserved vintage clothes, used books, antique-inspired jewelry. John Derian’s assortment of postcards reproduces old drawings and images from the early1900s, but without the hefty price tag of true antique prints. Each of the 40-odd cards is suitable for mailing or framing: One depicts the illustrated title page from the book The Summer House, and Other Stories, from the late 1800s; some display drawings of ships, seashells, or chocolate; another reprints the skull-and-crossbones-stamped invitation from a "Physicians’ Ball" in 1900. But some of our favorites feature typewritten lines copied from early-twentieth-century correspondence, like this primly ominous choice: "Sorry to appear insistant [sic], but I must have my trinkets. This is the last chance."

Your girl Chanel Iman is on the far left.Photo: AP

Images from the Christian Dior fall 2009 couture show, which walked today in Paris, are trickling in. We’ll have the whole show up for you later, but obviously we had to bring you a first look as soon as we could. And John Galliano still loves those sheer bottoms! Here you see a few of the see-through skirts that walked today. One model strutted the runway wearing even less — a fuchsia jacket and nude tap pants. For his fall 2009 Christian Dior ready-to-wear collection, Galliano showed a jumpsuit so sheer the model may as well have walked down the runway in only her thong. Sheer skirts also appeared in Galliano’s fall 2008 couture and spring 2009 ready-to-wear shows for Dior. But maybe this is more of a recession-minded business decision than anything else. Customer: "I’m interested in the black knee-length skirt Chanel Iman wore on the runway." Dior salesman: "And you’ll probably want an $8,895 couture slip to go with that?" At least the shoes aren’t a walking death wish this season.

Fashion [Yahoo News]

See the full couture runway collection and check out the details gallery and backstage and front row.

Photo: Getty Images

After eight days of nonstop fashion shows, parties, budget woes, and free McDonald’s lattes, Fashion Week fall 2009 is over. We turned to IMG senior V.P. Fern Mallis (basically Fashion Week’s fairy godmother) at the Ralph Lauren show this morning for some final words before it all becomes merely a blurry neon-hued memory. "I think it’s been a great week! I think the energy and the enthusiasm and the attendance — all of it was as good as ever," Mallis said, noting the economy may be the elephant in every room, but didn’t plow everything to the ground this season. "It didn’t stop Fashion Week as we know it from functioning. It didn’t stop the parties from happening, the shows from going forward, or the dinners or the entertaining."

Mallis added she didn’t encounter a single person who wasn’t excited about the move to Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park in 2010. But what about Anna Sui, who bemoaned the move because Lincoln Center is too far from her studio? "Anna Sui is the only one who likes to walk with the rack from her office," Mallis said.

What will Mallis do with herself now that New York’s fall 2009 collections have all been shown? Why, judge a new Bravo reality series, of course! Mallis will judge Fashion Show, along with Kelly Rowland and Isaac Mizrahi, who also plays host. It’s Bravo’s Project Runway replacement, in which designers compete for a chance to have their clothes sold at a major retailer. A studio audience will in part determine the winner. Mallis said Bravo knew her from her guest-judge stints on Project Runway and called her up to ask her to do this show. "I think they liked the credibility that I bring in a show called Fashion Show. I mean, hello?" So while she does that, we’re going to go drink and collapse somewhere, hopefully in our own bed. Fall 2009, it’s been real.

Jil Sander, spring 2009Photo: Imaxtree

No one can get over what Raf Simons did with fringe in his spring 2009 Jil Sander collection. On the other hand, Prada’s crinkled fabrics and snakeskin were a take on "cave woman couture." But if you can’t let go of florals for spring, Blumarine’s got you covered. See these and more in our brand-new runway slideshows from Milan Fashion Week.

Jil Sander
Moschino
Salvatore Ferragamo
Prada
Missoni
Burberry Prorsum
Alberta Ferretti
Blumarine
Sportmax