Models at New York Fashion Week are facing an even more competitive environment as many designers continue to down-size and opt for cheaper presentations over runway shows, said Marques Nolan, an agent for Code Model Management.

Model Emily Fox, backstage before the Academy of Arts runway show, said designers are holding less castings making it even more competitive than usual to get modeling work.   It has also become more common for models to be paid in clothes rather than money, she said.

Another model, Alice Gibb, said she was told last minute she wouldn't be needed for a show she had been booked for.

New York Fashion Week kicked off on Thursday with designers showing collections for spring and summer 2010. Here's the view of the journalists and department store buyers from the front row at the Ports 1961 show at Fashion Week headquarters - the Bryant Park tents in Midtown Manhattan.

And here is what it is like for the photographers.....

Wannabe vampires can now suck up some “Twilight” love — ummm, read fashion — at department store Nordstrom. The retailer has announced a deal with Summit Entertainment for an exclusive clothing and jewelry collection inspired by the upcoming film “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”

“Twilight,” of course, is the smash hit movie romance ($382 million global box office) about a teenager (Bella Swan) and her forbidden love for a vampire (Edward Cullen) and all the blood-sucking complications that can bring. “New Moon” is its sequel, due in theaters this November.

Shoppers can find their plaid tunics, “Team Jacob” T-shirts or “I love Edward” heart pendants starting October 1. The collection, created by Awake Inc, “reflects the mood and spirit of the film,” according to a press release. Prices range from $32 for a T-shirt to $58 for a jacket.

An Entertainment Weekly blog described the line as “supercute” but bemoaned the lack of life-size cutouts of heartthrob Robert Pattinson (Edward) in a suit for sale. That’s him at right with Kristen Stewart (Bella).

Nordstrom is also holding events in stores in advance of the release of the second installment of the vampire saga, including advance screening parties, and has launched an online countdown on a special website.

But if you’re trying to re-create a bare-chested werewolf look, don’t go to Nordstrom — there’s no love there. You’re on your own.

(Photo: Reuters)

Gidget the Chihuahua, who achieved pop-culture immortality in the "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" ad campaigns run by the fast-food outlet in the 1990s, died of an apparent stroke in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Tuesday while watching television. She was 15.

US Weekly broke the news on Wednesday, quoting the dog's owner, Karen McElhatton, as saying Gidget "lived like a queen" and "had a great life."

Taco Bell is a unit of Yum! Brands Inc., whose stock shook off the bad news and rose 30 cents to $33.68 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Gidget starred in Taco Bell ads for two years, beginning in late 1997. "She" became a "he" in the spots, which depicted the canine on a quest for Taco Bell fare. The tagline "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" (I want Taco Bell) passed into the lexicon, and Gidget became an instant celebrity. She showed up at movie premieres, on magazine covers, and even at the opening session of the New York Stock Exchange. A toy version sold briskly at Taco Bell's 6,000 outlets. But the $200 million ad campaign did not do much for Taco Bell sales, and the company dropped Gidget after complaints from franchisees.

In 2003, a federal jury in Michigan ordered Yum to pay $30.2 million to a pair of designers who alleged that Taco Bell advertising executives stole their idea for a character called "Psycho Chihuahua" after making a verbal agreement to use the men's design. Yum had countered that the talking Chihuahua was created by a former ad agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day.

Gidget had no offspring. She will be cremated.

Waiting for your star power to be discovered? Retailer Banana Republic and cable network AMC are joining up to promote the third season of “Mad Men,” the Emmy Award-winning early 60s-era drama set in a Madison Avenue ad agency.
    
A lucky customer may even win the chance for a walk-on role in an upcoming episode and a $1,000 gift card from Banana Republic, which is owned by Gap Inc. 
    
To get you ready for your close-up, Banana Republic is promoting the show in all its North American stores leading up to its August 16 premiere, with mannequins dressed in classic early ’60s styles and even a “Mad Men” style guide.

Think sharp suits, wide skirts, form-fitting sheath dresses, fedoras and pearls.
    
“The Banana Republic partnership is testament to the broad influence the series has had on the world of design,” said AMC President and General Manager Charlie Collier.

(Photo: Banana Republic)

Ahead of the recession, dollar stores thought it would be a good idea to try to lure shoppers into their stores more frequently by stocking an increased selection of food. Many of them began installing refrigerated coolers in their stores so they could sell things like eggs, milk and dairy.

More recently Family Dollar added 200 more food products — including a bigger selection of pasta and Kraft salad dressings — to its shelves.

As the economic downturn persists, that decision to focus on food appears to be paying off as more shoppers seek low prices on food.

With many consumers losing jobs or seeing their hours cut to part time, shoppers also have more time and greater incentive to compare prices and scour a variety of stores for deals.

The average household made 13 trips to a dollar store in 2008, up from an average of 11 in 2001, the Nielsen Co said. But the average household made 59 trips to supermarkets in 2008 — 13 fewer visits than in 2001.

Shopper Juan Bugueno told Reuters that he shops the Albertsons, Ralphs and Whole Foods grocery stores in his Venice, California, neighborhood — but prefers the dollar store for staples like vegetables and eggs.

“It’s cheap and it’s good,” he said as he purchased bagged spinach and garlic at a busy 99 Cents Only Store.

So, where are you shopping for your groceries these days? Are you venturing into dollar stores instead of heading to the supermarket?

It reminds us of those old Disney commercials in which, after a big victory, a sports star is asked where they are going next, and the answer is "Disneyworld," or something close to that.

But in this case, it is recent "American Idol" winner Kris Allen, who after winning the TV talent contest last month wasn't schmoozing with Mickey Mouse, he was singing for Wal-Mart investors at the mass market retailer's annual meeting in Arkansas on Friday.

Reuters was there (Smokey Robinson was, too) and here's a link to our video of Kris, posted on YouTube.

American Idol winner Kris Allen @ Wal-Mart 2009

By Nivedita Bhattacharjee 
 
As Bella and Edward move ahead, Hot Topic is all set to move with them.
 
After cashing in on Twilight’s success, Hot Topic has snapped up an exclusive deal for New Moon, the much awaited movie sequel to the star-crossed vampire romance.
 
And in good time too.

Priced at $22, the New Moon T-shirts might just be Hot Topic’s trump card for the season, and it looks like the retailer is leaving nothing to chance when it comes to promoting them. 
 
Ads for the T-shirts hold top spots on its website.  The company has also been sending out promotional emails to leverage interest in the items, available months ahead of the movie’s Nov. 20 release.
 
Pali Research analyst Amy Noblin received one such mailer, and says this unexpected arrival could benefit June sales results for the company. 
 
Hot Topic had boasted of a solid performance for months on end, but forecast a second-quarter loss, saying fewer people visited its stores after Easter.
 
The usually fashion-savvy company seems to have run into some trouble inventory-wise — its neon-bright jeans aren’t selling too well, and its super-successful Twilight merchandise lost some sheen over the months.

While most analysts, including Pali’s Noblin, are still upbeat on the company, one confessed in a research note to have “underestimated the impact of the Twilight franchise on the company’s overall business.”  Yes, it seems the lure of the vampire caught even FBR Capital Markets’ Adrienne Tennant a little by surprise.
 
And Noblin says Hot Topic will need the new merchandise to match tough comparisons driven by Twilight.
 
When that is the case, will New Moon make Hot Topic stores shine bright?

(Reuters photo)

Ayone who has been into Topshop's Oxford Street store in London on a Saturday will know that there are normally so many shoppers inside that it is almost difficult to move.

So when the trendy British mass market fashion retailer -- for which supermodel Kate Moss designs a clothing line -- opened its first U.S. store in New York this month it was no surprise that people were lining up to get in the door.

On Saturday, despite drizzling rain and less than spring-like temperatures, the line outside stretched half a block, although the Soho shop appeared less packed inside than the Oxford Street store on a Saturday morning.

With bouncers outside only letting shoppers in as others left, Topshop New York resembled more of a nightclub.

Would you line up to get into Topshop? Or any other clothing stores?

Listen up, all you Oscar fashion watchers.

Black is back in a big way because "it's practical," New York designer Francisco Costa told Reuters after his fall Calvin Klein Women's runway show at New York Fashion Week, which ended on Friday. Black is also among the "in" colors for gowns on the red carpet this year and will very likely make a major appearance at the Oscars on Sunday. Kate Winslet already has been showing a penchant for black during Hollywood's awards season.

Actress Kate Beckinsale, in a skintight black leather dress, was among the celebrities who packed the Calvin Klein showroom this week to see Costa's fall collection of  tailored coats and sculptured dresses. Many had asymmetrical hems. The horsehair boots and shoes featured high rectangular heels that were open in the middle.

Vogue's editor at large Andre Leon Talley said after the show: "It's hard to do an almost all-black collection, but he pulled it off! These are clothes for women who have some place to go and don't want to look like everybody else."

Costa talks to Reuters below: