Is this Ebony Fashion Fair? Nope! It’s Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2010. The designer apparently tried to hog all the beautiful brown girls in Paris for his Spring 2010 collection this year, casting some of the most buzz-worthy black models in the business right now – including the very pregnant Jourdan Dunn (who is even more gorgeous with a bit of weight on her, BTW).

I have mixed feelings about the collection itself, which is dying to rehash Gaultier’s glory days (the ’90s) – almost stitch for stitch in some spots. I half expected Madge herself to pop up…

photos: wwd.com

Sonia Rykiel *SPARKLES* Fall/Winter 2009/2010

I’m several days late with my woohoo! for the Gaultier goodness on it’s way to Target later this year. And now there’s news of yet another designer-discount chain collab by way of Chez Rykiel + H&M.

PARIS — Picking up the pace of its designer collaborations, fast-fashion giant H&M said Monday French designer Sonia Rykiel would create a lingerie collection for holiday retailing.

The collection is to be launched Dec. 5 in 1,500 H&M stores worldwide, and also at Rykiel boutiques — the first time a guest designer for H&M will do so. The French firm counts 44 boutiques worldwide, along with 52 shop-in-shops.

In another first, the collaboration with Rykiel will continue into the spring season, with a knitwear line for women and girls, accompanied by accessories. This second collection will be launched in around 250 H&M stores on Feb. 20.

“We wanted something different,” H&M creative adviser Margareta van den Bosch told WWD. “Sonia Rykiel is very Parisian, feminine and playful, so it was an ideal choice.”

Looks like H&M is really trying to give Target a run for it’s diffusion money. But if the Rykiel lingerie collection looks anything like Fall 2009 (see above), I’ll be steering clear. Sequins in the nether regions just sounds like a bad idea.

via WWD.com