ANTM's new winner will receive an Italian Vogue cover

Tyra Banks is stepping up her game!

On the next season of America's Next Top Model, the winner will not be gracing the cover of Seventeen magazine, but rather Vogue Italia, along with receiving two fashion spreads.

This is a big jump for the show.

Banks called the partnership "my second coup in the high-fashion makeover of 'Top Model' which I talked about earlier this year with André Leon Talley joining the judging panel."

The former supermodel explained how the partnership came to be in this statement:

"I was so excited when Franca Sozzani, Editor-in-Chief of Italian Vogue, reached out to me at the end of last year to be a permanent contributor on the recently launched vogue.it (Italian Vogue’s new website) - I was (and AM!) so honored and excited to be working so closely with such an iconic brand. Franca and I really hit it off; we really connected on a personal level, but even more so as we exchanged visions for the future of our brands. I knew instantly that we were destined to partner together in another BIG way; I even told Franca I’d be in touch as soon as I figured out what that was - OH, and I wasn’t kidding. Here’s ANTM with an Italian Vogue cover, and not one, but TWO in-book fashion spreads for our winner."

It's a smart move on Tyra's part, seeing how there have already been fourteen seasons of ANTM, and she risks losing viewers. Clearly André Leon Talley had a big part in this collaboration, but it'll be interesting to see how casting goes for the fifteenth season of Top Model, because really, if a trashy, dramatic, uneducated, gossiping girl gets a Vogue cover, it will be pretty disappointing.

What do you think of this new partnership? Bad move on Vogue Italia's part, or good in terms of publicity?

Tweet me your thoughts @TheChicSpot.

Galliano to hit the big screen

John Galliano is set to play himself in a film based on the late Isabella Blow.


Legendary milliner, Philip Tracey, confirmed that the film is to go ahead while he attended Naomi Campbell's 40th birthday bash in Cannes.

Vogue's Andre Leon Talley blogged,

I caught Treacy, in an Alexander McQueen smoking with a black shawl collar spliced with gold lamé, to thank him for all those gorgeous Grace Jones hats. We had not hugged since Isabella Blow’s funeral three years ago, and he shared fabulous news: He has a producer to do a film on Isabella, and Galliano has already confirmed to play himself. Who will play Isabella? Treacy has a great trick up his hat, and it’s going to rock the world, but he cannot reveal it until this major new talent confirms.

Blow was best known for supporting the careers of both Treacy and the late Alexander McQueen. She committed suicide in May 2007 after a battle with depression and ovarian cancer.

Fashion's Night Out - New York

Last night, Vogue's Fashion's Night Out took place in several locations worldwide, including New York and London.

The event was held in order to enliven the consumer spirit, and to boost the local industry of America's fashion capital, New York City.

Many big-names in the fashion industry were in attendance, including Vogue's editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour and editor-at-large, Andre Leon Talley. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were bartending at Barneys, Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha showed off her Irish dancing moves at DKNY, Taylor Momsen performed with her band, The Pretty Reckless at the Teen Vogue block party, and much, much more!

Here are some photos from the event!

Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford at the Dolce & Gabbana boutique.

Gossip Girl's Taylor Momsen performing wither her band, The Pretty Reckless.

Gossip Girl's Blake Lively at the Ralph Lauren Women's Store on Bleecker Street.

The Row designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at Barneys New York.

Actress Camilla Belle at Ralph Lauren.

Victoria Beckham at Bergdorf Goodman.

Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha Irish dancing at DKNY.

Rihanna at the Giuseppe Zanotti Boutique.

Vogue's Anna Wintour and L.A.M.B. designer Gwen Stefani at Bloomingdale's 59th Street Store.


Vogue's Andre Leon Talley at Bergdorf Goodman.

Designer Brian Atwood, celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe and socialite Nicky Hilton at the Bally Boutique.

Quote of the Day

"I wear Juicy Couture shorts, a Ralph Lauren polo shirt and Uggs." 

- Vogue's editor-at-large André Leon Talley on what he wears at home. 

An open letter to the fashion industry: why so serious?

Dear Fashion World,

As much as I love and respect you and the industry, sometimes I feel that I just need to take a step back at look at you from an outsider's point of view.

And really, when I think about it, those of us who devote our lives to fashion have the tendency to justify the ridiculousness of your industry.

Case in point: Madonna's Louis Vuitton number at the Met Ball. Brilliant fashion statement, or just plain awful? You went for the former, when really, we all know she looked like a fool.

Fortunately, many satirical fashion sites have emerged, awakening us from the absurdness of your world.

Fashion Roast poked fun at some of the most famed fashion bloggers, including Rumi Neely of Fashion Toast, and the trends these bloggers followed (they once made a DIY: BLEACHED DENIM post, where they used "Paint" to draw on white splotches in order to "bleach" a denim jacket.) "WE R LIKE TOTALLY IMPORTANT AND INFLUENTIAL MEMBERS OF THE FASHION COMMUNITY LOL," read their profile. Unforunately, the blog has now been removed. I guess the bloggers got offended.

Karl Lagerfeld's Guide to Life is written by a fake Karl, who captures the essence of the famed designer, but in a hilarious and outrageous way. One of his most recent posts is a scolding towards his Twitter followers. He claims that although he has 1577 followers, not that many people follow the actual blog: "The real reason so little of you 1577 cannot read this blog is because you cannot read! You people cannot read any more than one-hundred-and-forty characters at a time! Your short little attention spans can only grasp these little messages of 140 letters, hm?" Contributers include a faux Anna Wintour and Yves Saint Laurent.


Look at this F*cking Hipster posts photos of those who still religiously follow the hipster fad, and provides their own commentary. You can find several of these "hipsters" wearing thick-framed glasses, very low-cut v-necks, and of course, the signature skinny jean.


But perhaps one of the most brilliant of these sites is WWWWD, a parody of Women's Wear Daily that debuted during New York Fashion Week. Deemed "The Onion" of the fashion world, Worldwide Womenswear Digest brilliantly pokes fun at the best of the best in the fashion industry. The creators recently came out with their second issue, a Met-ball special, which includes a review of André Leon Talley's capes.

So dear industry, please understand that my love affair with these satirical sites means I am turning my back on you. I simply just needed some entertainment to keep me happy. After all, fashion is supposed to be fun, right?

With love,
The Chic Spot.

André Leon Talley shows off his patriotism

Image via nymag.com

Vogue's André Leon Talley sporting a button of the Obamas at the Vanity Fair party for the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.

Michelle Obama's Vogue Cover

First Lady, Michelle Obama graces the cover of the March 2009 issue of Vogue. She is the second first lady (the first being Hilary Clinton) to appear on a Vogue cover. André Leon Talley reported for this story, and the portraits were taken by Annie Leibovitz.

For photos and more, click here.