Forget Facebook and Myspace (and Bebo and Linked in and Xing...) if you're a funky fashionista who wants to publicize your talent and break into the industry in a big way, you may find the best way forward is to apply for Project Runway sign up to the most fashion-forward social networking site on the net.

FashionSpace has over 20,000 members in 120 countries, and could mean to aspiring designers what Myspace used to mean to unsigned bands: a place to be discovered.

Designers at little-known Australian shoe company Melissa have been given a gift that's better than anything money could buy: legendary punk designer Vivienne Westwood has collaborated with them on a new footwear range, which fuses elements of Westwood's trademark quirky style with an innovative style of shoe-making.

Every the most ardent fashionista will surely admit that there are some things which are - yes! - more important than the latest designer bag, Paris Hilton's newest business venture or what the stars are wearing to another black tie event. Nadia Plesner certainly thinks so: the 26-year old artist from Holland has created a series of striking posters to highlight the tragedy of the ongoing genocide in Darfur (in which so far 200,000-400,000 people have died -- and 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes).

To mark the contrast between the suffering of the people of Darfur and our love of celebrity style and gossip, she drew a starving African child holding a chihuahua dog and a purse which looks similar to something LV would make.

Times must be tough for Lindsay Lohan. Not only is the part-time TV actress too hard up to purchase her own clothing (allegedly), she's now asking models for her new line of leggings to work for free.

Believe it or not, a recent casting ad she ran asks: "Please do not send models to the casting unless they are available for shoot and call time and they agree to trade terms." BTW, "trade" is the industry euphemism for "we won't pay you, but we promise this is really good for, you know, your resume, and making connections and stuff."

And sure, we realize that the entertainment industry is a tough business to break into, so people work for free all the time. But we're not talking about some DIY hipster boutique in Brooklyn, this shoot is for a line designed by Lindsay "I've starred in a number of blockbuster movies" Lohan. The idea that she'd ask aspiring models to work for nothing is a joke.

Christina Ricci once called the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute Gala the "East Coast Oscars," and she was right. It's an evening that's all about being seen. The right dress can get you talked about the for the rest of the year. So with no further ado, we present to you, our own best of the best list from the big event tonight!

Browse through the gallery to see what we had to say about each and every celebrity outfit, and drool over the amazing clothes like we did!

These are our top 15 picks of the whole night.



And here are the ladies who looked great, but night quite polished enough to make it onto the best of the best list.

We love all of the amazing independent designers out there. In order to find out more about just what makes all of these creative types tick, we present to you an ongoing segment called Indie Designer Interviews.

Today's interview is with Candice Gwinn, owner and designer of Trashy Diva, a vintage-inspired line of dresses and separates. What started as a vintage-only clothing store in 1996 has grown into three New Orleans boutique locations, a thriving wholesale business, and a successful e-commerce website. Today the Trashy Diva collection is carried in boutiques around the world, it has been featured in the pages of Elle and Lucky magazines, and has been worn by numerous celebrities.

It looks like someone is feeling the pressure to compete in this wild, wild, fast fashion market.

Much like Target and H+ M, Urban Outfitters has been itching to get its hands on a few designers to lure hip boys and girls on budget into its chain stores.

As you may have noticed, we try to keep up-to-date with the latest trends in the constantly unfolding universe of t-shirts. Apparently, electronic music guru and animal rights activist Moby is a fellow t-shirt conoisseur. He's holding a contest on Threadless.com where artists can submit their designs to win $2,000, a $500 Threadless.com gift certificate, a turntable, a bunch of memorabilia.

Submissions are supposed to be inspired by Moby's new album Last Night, but that's pretty wide open. We recommend a design that relates to the Disco Lies video. There's almost nothing as visually powerful as a chicken eating Col. Sanders -- just a thought. Although it doesn't say specifically, we assume that the winning design will be sold at upcoming concerts. It will definitely be sold on Threadless and you get $500 each time your design is re-printed.

[via PopCandy]

We love all of the amazing independent designers out there. In order to find out more about just what makes all of these creative types tick, we present to you an ongoing segment called Indie Designer Interviews.

Today's interview is with handbag designer Joanna Baker of Jobie Boutique, a line of handcrafted bags perfect for women of any age. Joanna creates hobos, satchels, wristlets and cosmetic cases using high-quality, classic materials such as leather and suede paired with cotton canvas in timeless prints like paisley and houndstooth.

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen have achieved moderate success with their first fashion line, The Row. We suppose they figured, "Hey, we did OK with that, let's try another one." So they began a second line, this one called Elizabeth & James, after their siblings.

Why not? Even if it fails, it's not like the girls are going to go bankrupt.

As we all know, the video game industry has continued to bust its hump trying to grab that ever-elusive fashionista demographic. Pasty-faced gamers with joysticks permanently attached to their hands just aren't cutting it anymore.

In an attempt to draw in the fashion-savvy crowds, Rockstar Games has thrown Karl Lagerfeld into the fourth installment of Grand Theft Auto. Although it would be insanely cool to speed through the streets as silver-haired Lagerfeld, he won't be featured as a character. Instead, he's playing DJ -- you do know he's a DJ, right? -- and taking care of the music for the game.

As much fun as this sounds, it still seems like a bizarre choice. Will Grand Theft Auto players know enough to appreciate Lagerfeld? Will Lagerfeld-lovers be enticed enough to get into the game? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Naomi Campbell spits on strangers. Now she's banned from British Airways for life. [Reuters]

Wish you could beat Karl Lagerfeld with a baseball bat and steal his car? Now you can! He's in Grand Theft Auto IV. [Shiny Shiny]

Are you a hopeless douche bag who tries too hard to be cool? Then you'll want this lame handbag "Urban Performer Unit" in your arsenal. [Gizmodo]

Why haven't I heard of Carla Braccialini? I walked by the store in Soho and did a double take. Their window was stocked with bold, bright, matching patent leather shoes and bags. It was so cool I had to stop in for a gander.

Look at this stuff on their great flash site! These lines don't even include the bright red and multicolored items I saw in their window. Look at the classy Looney Tunes stuff! I can't believe I just said that!

We love international fashion weeks. There's nothing better than seeing crazy, amazing clothes from relatively unknown designers, models walking down runways in cities we've never been to, and checking out the outfits on famous people we've never heard of. Work from houses outside the typical big names in fashion is always interesting. This week, I present to you, Fresh Art, showing at Russian Fashion Week.

After the death of designer Gianco Ferré last September, the fashion house has been on a dire quest to find a designer who could step in and take over the reigns.

Lars Nilsson -- the former designer of Nina Ricci -- was tapped to be the creative director for Ferré in 2007, but was released from his position before his first collection even went down the fall 2008 runway. Ouch, indeed!

So, we have our fingers crossed for this new design duo: