We’re pretty stoked about the Blog.Mode special exhibition at the Met. The Costume Institute will be putting several avant guarde acquisitions on display in hopes of promoting “critical and creative dialogues” on fashion. The piece in the photo above is from Junya Watanabe’s 2000 collection. There’s set to be 40 costumes going all the way back to the 18th century to present day. The exhibition is made possible by the person I call the quintessential shoe artist Manolo Blahnik.

What has us really stoked about this exhibition though is the involvement of blogging. Visitors will be able to blog about pieces from the exhibit on the Met’s special page created specifically for blogging. They’re also setting up… wait for this one… a “blog bar” at the exhibition itself where visitors can also blog about the pieces. The Costume Institute curators and designers are also getting in on the blogging. It’ll be a blogging good time. Take a look at the page here.

Had a chance to look at Debra Rodman’s Spring ‘08 collection awhile back up close and personal at a “meet the press” type of session and wanted everything from the designer that point onwards. The art lover slash poet slash designer seems to have women’s varying body types and silhouettes completely figured out or damn near close. From the flirty dress, to the ruffled jacket and one of my favorites from her fall line the leisure girlie dress, Rodman “gets it.” The fact that I’ve been living under a rock and wasn’t aware of her until viewing the Spring 08 line means that I need to bone up on my designers.

In the meantime if she’s new to you too, take a look at her Fall/Winter collection. I’m scanning photos from the Spring 08 viewing and will put that up hopefully with an interview soon. Here are some personal favorites from her Fall/Winter 07 collection:

The idea has been bandied about for years now, but models seem to be getting serious about putting together a trade union. The Independent has an article today on top models coming together to form just such an organization. Right at the outset there is some degree of cynicism as to the purpose and the good that a modeling trade union would do. Having been on shoots and seeing how these talents get treated, I can say with no pause that models definitely need some sort of union or someone looking out for them. The easiest way to look at it is twofold.

1. Models are very you when they get into the industry. Being young means that there are a lot of things you have to learn on your own that few are willing to teach you and many more are willing to take advantage. The agencies are businesses and although they are supposed to have the model’s best interest at heart, they are a business.

2. Most models don’t make thousands of dollars to walk down a runway. While some do, most models don’t make much to walk down a runway or work a photo shoot. In fact most models don’t make hundreds of dollars for shoots. Most models work for a book that leads to a job at a makeup counter. It sounds grim and gloomy the masses are not paid well and after a couple of years they usually have little to nothing to show for it.

A model’s union could function very similar to the writer’s guild you see striking today. The union would negotiate base wages with publications, TV shows, designers etc. The union would also work to ensure that these perennial independent contractors have money stored away, when modeling is not an option anymore. Issues, with weight, non-paying organization and other problems that arise from time to time could be brought to this union.

We’re hoping that the union idea works. It’s long in coming and makes plenty of sense.

Read: Model’s Join Equity trade union (Independent)

We’ll never question his almost-infinite wisdom. Nor his ability to play king/queen maker when it comes to fashion. So when Karl Lagerfeld told the press that his new muse was Amy Winehouse more than one eyebrow was raised and reporters went to their Macs feverishly typing that the beehive songstress is “it” now. Nevermind the fact that even with her propensity to do all types of self-harm, she is one of the greatest singers of this generation. So now the alleged drug addict (we use the word alleged lightly), now adds another title to her already lengthy resume. Muse.

Lagerfeld told the press in no uncertain terms that Winehouse,

“is a beautiful, gifted artist. And I very much like her hairdo. I took it as an inspiration. Because, in fact, it was also Brigitte Bardot’s hairdo in the late Fifties and Sixties. And now Amy has made it her own style.

“So, when I saw her, I knew it was the right moment. Amy . . . she is the new Brigitte.”

Winehouse did not attend Lagerfeld’s pre-fall 2008 showing, which we are hearing (and seeing) match highpoints in past Lagerfeld/Chanel collections. The Brigitte Bardot thing is a stretch, but if Winehouse is contributing to Lagerfeld’s new creativity, we say let it be.

The Sun is all over this one.

Celerity bloggers blogging on fashion websites, celebrity bloggers launching accessory lines, celebrity bloggers not getting arrested. It’s all featured this week on our weekly roundup. Ok, may not the celebrity bloggers getting arrested part, but the first two we can definitely say happened. Some interesting posts permeated the fashion blogosphere this week including an interview with Rosie Hogan the youngest Australian designer ever to show at New York fashion week. Then we find an interesting post that our editor will be paying heed to in the form of holiday party hijinks. We then go to China to find the perfect wool pleated cape. It’s all on the fashion web this week.

Stiletto Jungle features the cozy Rachel Pally Sailor Pant, as seen on Oprah’s Favorite Things.

Barneys is fighting for our trees, one Fendi Tote at a time. More on Bag Bliss

Bag Snob is drooling over Kara Ross’ Cella Python bag!

Beauty Snob fights tired skin with Elizabeth Arden Prevage!

Coquette talks to Project Runway’s Nina Garcia and gets the dish on her favorite new fashion designers to look out for and lots of answers to readers’ questions!

Big Fashion Indie News!!! New York designer and Project Runway alumn Malan Breton has a new bi-monthly column on FashionIndie.com. Go behind the scenes with the fashionisto. Read “It’s Malan Darlings”.

Fashiontribes finds the perfect pleated wool cape at Blanc de Chine, and enjoys the fact it’s inspired by Chinese history.

Karl Lagerfeld parks his tweed-covered party bus in London and all the Chanelophiles come out to play at a time. Get it all onGlamChic.

KRiSTOPHER gives away a Fendi “Hologram” clutch.

Will you be the Slut or the Snooze? Second City Style tells you how to avoid holiday party disasters in "Are You Naughty or Nice?

Celebrity Styleaholic Najwa Moses launches her accessory line SALTE with The Blogger Earring!.

Stylehive got a chance to chat with Rosie Hogan, the youngest - and only - Aussie designer to showcase her collection during New York’s Spring fashion week.

WELOVEBEAUTY.com’s newest celebrity stylemaker, makeup artist Fiona Stiles, dishes on how she created Halle Berry’s “Things We Lost in the Fire” premiere look

eBeautyDaily is wondering if she is alone in her lustful thoughts for Christmas goodies.