Karlie Kloss is having a flying start to the year. Having recently been named as the new face of Hermes, Dior and Oscar de la Renta, the 17-year-old made two apperances for heavyweight labels during this season's Paris Couture Fashion Week. She proved she was the outright star of the week, opening for Elie Saab (in a full length, full-skirted floaty evening gown) and closed for Jean Paul Gaultier's Mexico-meets-Avatar extravaganza.

Other high-profile models floating down the runways included Iris Strubegger, who opened and closed the Armani Prive show, as well as opening for Givenchy. Natalia Vodianova was drafted in to close for Givenchy as Mariacarla Boscono (who usually always closes) was absent from the week-long festivities. The Kaiser kept things simple, opting for Freja Beha to open Chanel's bow-filled collection, whilst Baptiste Giabiconi (of course) and Abbey Lee closed the show dressed as a futuristic-style bride and groom. That reminded us why we love couture week - and all the escapism it brings.

Giorgio Armani rolled out a haute couture collection in Paris today that makes us feel like falling in love - and specifically, we'd like to fall in love under the night sky while wearing shimmering micro-organza in the type of cuts that make the futuristic trend seem sweet. The Armani Prive Spring/Summer '10 show, which drew front-row guests including Anne Hathaway and Tina Turner, referenced the moon in everything from crescent brooches to carefully sculpted jackets to sweeping peplum waists. And the most memorable piece of the collection? A hint of an evening dress, worn by Vlada Roslyakova, with a hazy organza "globe" as a cover.

A midnight-blue lame gown was one of the only hints of bold colour in Armani's collection, mostly based in cloudy white, pale pink, silver and black. Pantsuits clung to the body, some with minimal-Balmain-style shoulderpads, and others with orbs of fabric for sleeves. Detailing came in the form of sweeps and swirls of brocade, pearl-finish sequins and crystal embellishment. All of this, sent down a moon-river runway where liquid-effect textiles reflected just as many lunar beams as the reflective catwalk floor. So was it theme overkill? A man like Armani could never do such a thing.

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Karlie Kloss has been one very busy girl this year. She has walked for some of the biggest names, including Valentino, McQueen, Gaultier, Givenchy and Armani Prive, and starred in ad campaigns for the likes of Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana and Marc Jacobs. All this from a young lady who turned 17 this year.

And just in case all her accomplishments as listed above and others (such as her love of ballet and cooking) weren't enough, Kloss has now been crowned as Vogue's favourite model of 2009. The "award" is thanks to the fashion bloggers du jour, at Fashin, who trawled through back copies of the magazines and tallied up just how many appearances Ms Kloss has made this year alone. She has graced the cover of every major Vogue magazine including Australian Vogue, Brazilian Vogue, British Vogue, Chinese Vogue, French Vogue, German Vogue, Italian Vogue, Japanese Vogue, Mexican Vogue, Russian Vogue and Spanish Vogue. Phew! What a list. We just can't imagine what life must be like for Karlie given that when we were 17, worrying about how we looked on the cover of a magazine was nothing more than a pipe dream. Congratulations lady!

Check here for a full top ten list. Enjoy.

Giorgio Armani wants to be clear about one thing: He doesn't see the sour economy as a reason to tone down the flash. At his haute couture show today in Paris, the designer let his models shine with everything from crystal-embellished stilettos to sparkling trouser suits, and guests like Megan Fox seemed to be blinded by the light in a good way.

Although a sportier undertone appeared throughout (think hoodie-and-anorak time), the glam was still in full effect with wild fur cover-ups, cheetah-print cocktail wear and (yes) blue-zebra sequinned evening dresses.

Would these styles from the runway have a place in your ideal closet?

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Sigh…the snowy mess in London (along with the disproportionate amount of moaning about it) has me wishing I could find somewhere to hop on a plane, grab the girls (Cate Blanchett and a sans-Tommy Katie Holmes) and do a bit of shopping. Naturally, we’d be choosing from the latest Armani Prive haute couture collection – so let’s dissect, shall we?


Well, hello! Pagoda-peak shoulders and down-to-there jackets (closed with pleated bows like this one or frog clasps and tassels) teamed with double-slit skirts that hit high on the calf. The show screamed 1930s plus China plus grunge-lady-spacebot.

more after the jump