The Gift of MARNI/

8am is never really an easy time to be anywhere. Yet season in and season out, Consuelo Castiglione welcomes us to her collection w/ a smile, a warm cup of coffee, and a little gift bag for the girls to tote around Milano, Paris, and points thereafter:

Maybe it's the hospitality or maybe it's the fantastic collection, but this show is definitely worth the wake-up call. The girls, though tired from fittings and rehersals the night before, really come to life as soon as the they fill the shoes and the accessories are draped down their neck. This season, besides heels and necklaces [which are omnipresent], she featured cute little fur mittens [making the girls even more adorable]!

WU / who?

Three seasons ago, a few of us went to the Jason Wu show wanting to see the new kid with a lot of buzz. Actually, I was shooting for Bumble and bumble and had to be there - but there was buzz and I was genuinely curious.

Fast forward to January and Michelle Obama is wearing one of his pieces on Inauguration Day. Skip another month and Jason Wu is backstage at his Fall 09 show and a whole lot of extra people are watching. They were not disappointed. Here's a few pics below of the fun backstage as the beautiful collection unfolded on the runway. When you see these pieces in stores [6mos from now], remember to take a look at the prints!