Kayne for LV

Women's Wear Daily confirms that Kanye West will collaborate with Louis Vuitton on a men's shoe line, Kayne for LV will debut Fall 2008.
Kanye is becoming quite the fashion power house these days. Sitting in the front row on the Louis Vuitton Show in Paris for Fashion Week, he was decked out wearing all of his own designs and a women's line is also to be making an appearance this Fall.

Jessica Simpson: Lingerie Designer

Jessica Simpson is expanding her namesake line of shoes, handbags, swimsuits and sunglasses to include lingerie, as well. Jessica Simpson's Intimates will include bras, panties, shapewear, sleepwear and daywear, and will be available in major department stores and online shops for Spring 2009.

"I like different lingerie for different occasions," Simpson told Women's Wear Daily. I think that's the best thing about it. You can feel sexy or girly depending on your mood."

The clothing and accessories line with Simpson's name attached have been met with a fairly warm reception, although the singer/actress has not found much success recently musically, on the big screen or in her romantic life. You know the saying: when one door closes, another one opens!

Yves Saint Laurent passed away

Designer Yves Saint Laurent, 71, passed away at his Paris home Sunday evening. According to Pierre Berge, a longtime friend and associate of the legendary couturier, Saint Laurent had been battling an illness for a long time.

Sources told People that the designer entered a Paris hospital last week and fell into a coma Wednesday night.

Saint Laurent "knew that he had revolutionized fashion, that he had revolutionized the second half of the 20th century. His designs accompanied the evolution of women," Berge told French news chain LCI.

The couturier was considered the most influential designer of his time, the last of a generation that included Coco Chanel and Christian Dior and made Paris the epicenter of fashion.

With the Left Bank, or Rive Gauche, as his headquarters, Saint Laurent revolutionized the way women dressed in the 20th century, especially in his elegant pantsuits and classic gowns.

He said that "fashion was not only supposed to make women beautiful, but to reassure them, to give them confidence, to allow them to come to terms with themselves."

The designer retired at age 65 in 2002, closing his Paris-based haute couture house as well. Saint Laurent founded the label 40 years ago. Rive Gauche, his ready-to-wear label, was sold to Gucci in 1999.

In an editorial The Independent of London wrote after Saint Laurent's retirement: "More than any other designer since Chanel, YSL represented Paris as the style leader. By putting a woman in a man's tuxedo, he changed fashion forever, in a style that never dated."

Saint Laurent was born Aug. 1, 1936, in Oran, Algeria. He first emerged on the fashion scene at age 17, win he won first prize for a cocktail dress design in a contest sponsored by the International Wool Secretariat.

He rose to prominence when, at age 22, he succeeded Christian Dior following Dior's sudden death in 1957.

According to embroiderer Jacques Lesage, who worked with Saint Laurent for 50 years, "He invented everything. He reinvented everything."

Heidi Montag debuts fashion line

'The Hills' attention-seeker Heidi Montag revealed her Heidiwood line in a runway show Friday at Hollywood and Highland Mall. The 8 runway looks and the rest of the collection can be purchased at Anchor Blues stores.

The models walked to music from Montag's yet to be released album.

Montag's partner in crime and on-off boyfriend, Spencer Pratt, appeared on stage and gave her two dozen pink roses before laying a kiss on the lips.

After reporters asked if the couple is on the mend, Montag replied, "I mean, you know, we're up, we're down. It's just the routine."

"The bottom line is that we love each other," Montag said. "We always have, and we're just trying to figure out our stuff like every other couple.

Montag's debut follows that of The Hills Lauren Conrad. The Lauren Conrad Collection sells in nearly 500 boutiques and runs from $44 for a tank top to $220 for a dress. Conrad said she designed the collection as clothes she and her friends would wear.

Fellow star of 'The Hills' Whitney Port is also releasing a clothing line soon. We'll have to see if Montag's and Port's can meet Conrad's collection's popularity.

Celebrity Fashion News

Several celebrities are joining in the trend to start their own fashion lines. Lindsay Lohan is apparently turning her obsession with leggings into a money-making venture. Lohan is designing her own line of leggings, confirmed her representative. We'll just have to see how long the pant-less fad continues to have legs (pun intended).

Rachel Bilson is taking on a perhaps more legitimate sounding designing gig. The "Jumpers" actress will collaborate her own Edie Rose line with DKNY Jeans. The sportswear collection, which will hit major department stores in September, will include jackets, dresses, jeans and knits.

Whitney Port, Lauren Conrad's friend and co-worker on "The Hills," is also making a foray into the designing world, following in the footsteps of LC's successful line and Heidi Montag's upcoming Heidiwood collection. The former Teen Vogue intern is teaming up with her pal, Adrienne Baravetto, to create a 17-piece collection to retail in upscale boutiques this fall. The contemporary clothing line will feature a lot of navy and pink, multi-colored jackets and tie-dye and sparkly dresses that run approximately $100-$500.

Finally, George Clooney's girlfriend, "Fear Factor" winner Sarah Larson, is now taking a stint on the catwalk. Larson modeled swimsuits for designer Ashley Paige at L.A. Fashion Week. "She was our special guest model, and yes she was booked as a model two days before the show. Of course we knew it would be press-worthy, but more importantly she's a fan of the label and she was a perfect fit for the show. She was a total delight to work with and she was professional. Just like any other model," Paige told People.