Eclectic U.S. designer Betsey Johnson celebrated 30 years in the business with a cartwheel down the runway at New York’s Fashion Week on Monday in front of celebrities including hip hop mogul Russell Simmons, rocker Joan Jett and model/talk show host Tyra Banks.
    The 65-year-old showed her agility after bursting through a 30th birthday banner at the end of her Parisian themed show, which had brightly colored light bulbs hanging over cafe tables lining the runway and models in berets tracked with spotlights through a smoky atmosphere.
    “I love my company, I love going to work, I love all the people, it’s just a fun job,” Johnson told Reuters backstage, where bunches of brightly colored balloons hung from the clothes racks and a sign encouraged models to “dig it, cool it, own it.”
    Along with showing her latest collection, which featured sequins, polka-dots, florals and animal prints, Johnson also displayed her “favorite oldies,” taken mostly from collections in the late 70s and early 80s.

New York’s Fall 2008 Fashion Week kicked off with a healthy dose of celebrities gracing the catwalk in red dresses to raise awareness of heart disease among women. U.S. First Lady Laura Bush introduced the show on Friday, which ended with Liza Minnelli singing a rousing rendition of “New York, New York.”
    Model and television host Heidi Klum, singers Ashanti and Joss Stone, and actresses Molly Sims, Allison Janney and Camryn Manheim also took a walk down the runway in dresses from various top designers including Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Max Azria Atelier, Catherine Malandrino and Badgley Mischka.
    A smattering of celebs have also graced the front rows of other shows over the weekend. Socialite Nicky Hilton and actress Katrina Bowden attended Sass and Bide, BabyPhat designer Kimora Lee Simmons attracted model and talk show host Tyra Banks, singer Joss Stone and actress Vivica A. Fox, while actress Anne Hathaway was at Erin Fetherston’s show.
    But perhaps one the hardest working celebrities has been fashion photographer and “America’s Next Top Model” judge Nigel Barker, who has been seen at several shows a day and graciously had his photo taken with countless fans. “It’s very flattering,” he told Reuters, adding that he had no problem with it because “they’re the reason we’re so successful.”

  Australian designers Sass and Bide, who appeared as judges on “Americas Next Top Model” when the reality TV series went downunder, returned to New York Fashion Week this weekend with a highly personal show. 
    Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke skipped New York’s Spring/Summer fashion week in September after Middleton was diagnosed earlier in the year with cancer, just days after giving birth to her second child. Their Fall 2008 show, titled “Rainbows for Kate,” honored a friend who recently died from cancer.
    “It was a tribute to a very dear friend of mine. It was all about celebrating her life, and love, and friendship and living,” Middleton told Reuters backstage after the show.
    The duo’s collection featured sequined rainbow adorned tops and brightly colored check dresses and attracted celebrities including socialite — and sister of Paris — Nicky Hilton and “America’s Next Top Model” judges Nigel Barker and J. Alexander.
    On her own health Middleton said: “I have a great prognosis and doing really well and feeling really happy — it’s great to be back.”

Just weeks after being booted from the hit U.S. reality television show “Project Runway” by model Heidi Klum and her fellow judges, designer Victorya Hong made her debut at New York Fashion Week, writes Chris Michaud.

Hong extended her 15 minutes of reality show fame significantly on Friday night, capping the first day of Fashion Week with a show titled “na be,” which consisted of 29 wearable, tailored looks for Fall 2008.

Several of Hong’s “Project Runway” rivals were on hand to show their support, including fabric spitter Elisa, fallen contestant Jack who left the show for health reasons mid-season, and young, super confident but talented Christian, a favorite of judges and the season 4 contestant fans love to hate. Season 1 winner Jay McCarroll was also in the front row.

Hong used the rare opportunity to showcase what she termed her 80s-inspired looks, sending models down the runway sporting mostly neutral-toned tailored slacks and jackets or softly feminine dresses rendered in silk, satin, gabardine or cotton.

What’s more, she beat the “Project Runway” finalists to the catwalk by a week. They won’t get to show their collections for the show’s top prize until Feb. 8.

Television counsellor Dr Phil’s public approach to helping troubled pop star Britney Spears might not have worked, but Terri Irwin — wife of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve — has another suggestion, courtesy of her daughter Bindi.

“Bindi’s the one who said… ‘People who are having trouble should go in the bush with us when we do our crocodile research work’… and if Britney and her family want to go in the bush with us, we’d love to have them,” Irwin told the “Extra” entertainment television show on Thursday. 

Should Britney take Bindi up on her offer, maybe someone should remind her to put on some more clothes…..

    After a week of walking lessons, test shoots, magazine castings, “go-see’s” with fashion designers and a beauty confidence seminar, 51 young women from around the globe strutted there stuff in New York Wednesday night in a bid to win hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of modeling contracts in the Ford Models Supermodel of the World contest.

    “I know none of your shoes fit. I know you must hate all of your clothes. But a true model transcends all of that,” Carmen Dell’Orefice told the models. At 76, the white-haired Dell’Orefice is commonly referred to as “the world’s oldest working model.”

    Fifty of the models won competitions in their homelands to gain a place in the final of the competition that began more than a quarter of a century ago, while the 51^st was chosen from entries submitted on MySpace. After gracing the catwalk twice - once in black and white outfits and once in brightly colored designs - the 2007/08 winners were announced.

    Alexina Graham from Britain and Nicole Faveren Vasquez from Peru were each awarded $100,000 contracts with Maybelline, although a language barrier meant the Peruvian model struggled to understand exactly what she had won.

    Ford model Chanel Iman and bearded ladyboy MC Andre J then handed out five contracts with the modeling agency. Britain’s Graham and Jacquelyn Jablenski from the United States each picked up $50,000 contracts, while Lithuania’s Vilita Bitvinskyte and Russia’s Natalia Belebrevik walked away with $100,000 contracts.

    The main prize of a $250,000 contract with Ford was awarded to Korea’s very excited Seung-hyun Kang (wearing the long pink skirt). And what a better to celebrate at a giant afterparty — at least for those over 21 — than with cocktails and mini cheeseburgers!

While celebrities including former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson, singer Christina Aguilera and fashion designer Kimora Lee Simmons have stripped off in the name of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals campaigns, singer Pink jokes that - while she would do anything for animals - her nudity might not help.

Pink was in New York on Wednesday to support a proposal before the city council to ban horse-drawn carriage rides through Central Park, describing it as an “outdated, awful, cruel tradition.”

“Everytime I come I see the horses, I just stand in the middle of the street and point and scream animal cruelty. I figured there’s got to be something a little more mature to try and do,” she told Reuters Television in an interview, explaining why she decided to help campaign for the council ban.

But when asked if she would consider going nude, she laughed and said: “I’d like to try and do something that’s flattering and make people happy.”

“I don’t think me getting naked is going to make too many people happy — including my husband. I’d do anything for animals. I’d put on the carriage and strap it to myself and walk around — if I was that strong,” she laughed.

According to IN Touch Weekly magazine, the pop star spends $10,000 a month on bottled water each month. Quoting “a pal”, the weekly celebrity magazine claims Madonna only drinks specially blessed Kabbalah water, spending an average of $10,000 a month on the bottled H2O for herself, husband Guy Ritchie and children Lourdes, Rocco and David.

“Madonna drinks a lot of water - that’s one of her fitness secrets,” her pal told In Touch. “And this is the only stuff she will touch.” According to http://www.kabbalahwater.com/, the blessed liquid “manifests water’s primordial capacity to heal and protect.”

Madonna follows Kabbalah, a mystical form of Judaism, wearing the recognizable “red string” around her left wrist, which http://www.kabbalah.com/ says is to “protect us from the envious looks of others, and to help us eliminate feelings of jealousy and resentment in ourselves.”

As co-host of U.S. talk show “The View,” Rosie O’Donnell may have boosted the audience by 17 percent, but it seems not everyone was a fan! The comedienne - who engaged in a very public war of words with billionaire Donald Trump a year ago - has been voted the most annoying celebrity on lifestyle Web site Parade.com, despite being off-air for six months!

O’Donnell garnered 44 percent of the vote, followed by socialite Paris Hilton on 24 percent, right-wing pundit Ann Coulter on 16 percent, Beatle Paul McCartney’s estranged wife Heather Mills McCartney on 12 percent and celebrity blogger Perez Hilton on 4 percent.

Parade.com received almost 2,000 answers to the survey. U.S. actor Owen Wilson’s suicide attempt was deemed the most shocking event with 60 percent of the vote, while Britney Spears custody battle over her two young sons only surprised 7 percent. Nearly 90 percent also voted Spears the “tabloid mom” who most needs a parenting class.

After stints in rehab, country singing star Keith Urban was deemed most likely to stay clean for the long haul with 55 percent of the vote, while singer Courtney Love was least likely with 2 percent. Of the celebrity jailbirds, Martha Stewart was voted most likely to stay out of the big house with 69 percent of the poll, while “Lost” star Michelle Rodriguez - who has just started 6-month jail term in Los Angeles for probation violation - only scored 1 percent.

And if you had to be stranded on an island with one person for a week, 29 percent would like that person to be comedian Stephen Colbert, 23 percent chose presidential candidate Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton and 19 percent want her rival Democratic Sen. Barack Obama. President George W. Bush was the man of choice for 17 percent, while presidential candidate Republican Rudy Giuliani nabbed 12 percent of the vote.

The full survey can be seen at http://www.parade.com/popculture/pop_cul ture_eoy_2007.

The New York Philharmonic will play the U.S. and North Korean anthems during an historic visit to the reclusive Communist state in February.

The centerpiece of the visit by the United States oldest symphony orchestra will be a performance on Feb. 26 at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre. North Korean music conservatory students will attend master classes by New York Philharmonic musicians, as well as the orchestra’s rehearsal.

Long-time foes Washington and Pyongyang are formally in a state of war but are engaged in a diplomatic process that could lead to the normalization of ties.

“This journey is a manifestation of the power of music to unite people,” said Zarin Mehta, president of the New York Philharmonic. “It is our sincere hope that these concerts will aid in the beginning of a new era between the peoples of our nations.”

But critics have questioned the appropriateness of the Philharmonic’s visit to North Korea whose government the United States considers one of the world’s most repressive and which has been accused of human rights abuses.

What do you think? Should they stay or should they go?