I stopped into my dear friend Ted Muehling's shop/studio on Howard Street last night for a little get-together celebrating his latest amazing collaboration with the super old aristocratic Austrian glass company Lobmeyr. It was so much fun and the work is so sick and amazing. Lobmeyr is famous for their paper-thin drinking glasses, and here they were serving amazing elderberry necter and prosecco with deviled quail eggs (I kid you not... there were like thousands of them!). But Muehling added his touch onto everything for this limited edition collection. The glasses and decanters were etched and painted with tiny ants, butterflies, and gnats in true Muehling style. My favorites were a beer glass (I think they cost like 600 bucks each!) with two little house flies painted on them and the little shotglasses with ladybugs or a human eye on the bottom as a surprise. I ran into Muehling fans and old friends there like Murray Moss (who also sells the Lobmeyr in his shop), Kiki Smith (who I think was a little freaked out about being plastered all over the place in those Gap ads), Mats Gustavson (Muehling's life-partner and wonderful artist), Lars Nillson, Neil Logan and Solveig Furlong (my #1 favorite architects lately) and lots of others all worshipfully bowing at the alter of our gifted friend Ted! Bravo.

I am waiting with baited breath to see the bike collab (called "Pressure") that the awesome Italian bicycle company Cinelli is producing with my friends over at RVCA (and most importantly, some of their artists from their network program) that will debut at the RVCA shop in San Francisco (aka VASF) this June. Bicycle insiders will agree that this is authentic meets authentic.

There will be 50 Cinelli/RVCA Barry McGee bikes produced that will sell for $3,700 (complete bicycle) or $2100 (frame kit only). There will additionally be another group of one-of-a-kind artist bicycles (available in three frame sizes: 54, 56, 58) designed by ANP artists like Ashley Macomber, Clare Rojas, C.R. Stecyk III, Dan Murphy, Dmote, Jesse Geller, Josh Lazcano, KAWS, Madsaki, Phil Frost, PM Tenore and Stephen Powers. Pressure will launch at San Francisco's VASF Gallery (1485 Haight Street), on Thursday, Jun. 19 from 7-10 p.m. So if you live in SF put that in ink.

After Kirsten Dunst's quirky harlequin-festooned S/S 2008 Miu Miu campaign, the Prada group has tapped Vanessa Paradis to carry the baton into F/W 2009.

Only time will tell how creative forces Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott interpret Miuccia's collection theme; last season they illustriously ran with the Egon Schiele circusy vibe. But tackling her sporty all-in-onesies, equestrian-meets-scubawear panelled tracksuit dresses, and super witty swimming caps may prove a more perplexing appeal!

For the record, your bunny is perfectly faithful in Mert & Marcus' genius and can't wait until the initial images are released!

“I have a whole collection of memorabilia with the Queen on it –- mugs, teat-towels, even those Sex Pistols’ T-shirts. I’ve been collecting since I was a kid. I love the way she dresses,” Agyness Deyn admits to the Telegraph's Hilary Alexander.

The Queen as a fashion icon is hardly a new notion. Afterall, British Vogue named Her Majesty in their Best Dressed of 2007 list this past December. To boot, Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana used the Queen's traditional holiday dress code in Balmoral as divine inspiration for their entire D&G diffusion collection.

Cheers!

Wait. Hang on. It seems as if my good friends over at Screaming Mimi's (NYC's coolest vintage store) have been selling vintage '80s Liz Claiborne pieces (see photo above) these days hand over fist. They just cannot keep this stuff on the racks it's in such demand. My friend Laura who owns the shop (and is working so hard on getting her fabulous beach shop ready in Montauk for the summer) is incredulous. She tells me the kids are all dying over vintage '80s Liz Claiborne, which is kind of shocking to me -- that stuff is UGLY IMHO. But when I heard that Hedi Slimane snuck into the shop and bought a womans '80s Liz Claiborne top for himself I almost died. (Is this about being green or about loving shoulder pads?)

I couldnt resist letting my genius friend Isaac Mizrahi (who is toiling away on the new image of Liz Claiborne) in on this little groovy secret about LC's popularity at Screaming Mimi's. Well Isaac is a MODERN kind of guy. He assured me that what he was doing had nothing to do with the '80s (thank god) and that he was having so much fun working on his first LC collection, which I am POSITIVE will be fabulous (not in the retro way). I actually can't WAIT to see what Mizrahi does for Claiborne. I'm sure it will put the dinosaur brand back on the map with a smart, colorful, fun, fabulous update. By the way, I wish they'd also get Isaac to design the Kate Spade line (also owned by LC). He is perfect aesthetically for that brand as well and is about the only other designer in the world who I think could carry on the aesthetic as well as the Spades. We'll see. Mizrahi's first Claiborne collection debuts in Spring 2009.

Designers and design freaks are pouring in from all corners of the world this week getting ready for the marathon that is New York City's annual design week, the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) at the Javits center opening May 17th and all the celebrations, shows, openings that surround it throughout the city. My favorites are always the huge Moss show, an orgy of Dutch design including the amazing Robber Baron pieces by Studio Job (If I were rich I would buy one of these for SURE!) and the outragous vases made out of beeswax and honeycombs (I swear) by Tomas Gabzdil (see pic above) opening Saturday. Ingo Maurer's show opens May 19th where you'll be able to see all Maurer's new work at 89 Grand Street. I also always love to check into my favorite Brooklyn emporium Future Perfect ( 115 N. 6th St., Williamsburg) who will be also opening a show this weekend featuring six designers. Check out Core77 for the full schedule of whats going on. Stuff is usually open to the public so join in the fun.

I hear through the grapevine that it was Levis who created that crazy video (anonymously) that's this weeks #1 smash on YouTube (just went over a million views) of the kids parkour-ing into their jeans. Really hysterical and amazing. There are 9,000 comments already on the video many of which suggest to the cute Jackass-y type boys jumping insanely from rooftops into their pants that they should go to a jeans company to sell their talents for big bucks. Well it turns out they got it backwards... Levis seems to have dreamt this up and went to them! So smart. Maybe the next sport at the Olympics? Check out the video.

Artist Caitlin Shearer, the 18-year-old Sydney, Australia native behind the Etsy sensation Pepperminte (and the subsequent "Bleeding Knees Club"), discusses her love of fashion, aversion towards pants, the nightmare that was high school, and the creative process behind her girls... and effeminate boys!

Julia Frakes: How would you describe your artwork?
Caitlin Shearer: Imaginary girls caught in houses of paper who have the biggest eyebrows in the world and whose knees are always bleeding.

JF: Who or what are your main influences?
CS: Everything I see goes in behind my eyes, then mingles and sleeps there in my brain for a while. The whole world is influencing me all the time. I catch a lot of public transport, and it's good for people-watching. I'll accidentally stare at people for too long, or listen to their private conversations: It's good material. I guess the culmination of me thinking about things too hard are my girls (and effeminate boys)!

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Simona McIntyre -- the articulate 18-year-old Canadian model captivating designers and photographers alike with her fairy tale good looks and delightful charm -- chats with us about her environmental beliefs and incredibly mature, levelheaded outlook on life. A very sincere thank you to the alluring Ms. McIntyre for graciously taking valuable time out of her teeming (and fascinating) schedule!

Julia Frakes: Are there any historic figures that you profoundly identify with?
Simona McIntyre: Actually, I think so. Since I was about seven years old I began to idolize Pocahontas. I have plenty of memories (and family home videos) of me in her Disney apparel, day in and out, barefoot and singing "Colors of the Wind." I recall channeling her, reminding those I saw to respect nature and of universal love. Whether or not the romanticized version of Pocahontas that I envisioned based on the Disney idol is the real Powhatan doesn't matter. To me she always represented my love and respect for every life form in the physical macrocosm.

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From the moment I laid my eyes on Skye Parrott's recent Jalouse editorial featuring the magical Paris-based writer, director and artist Lisa Rovner (pictured above), I've been dying to find a pair of vintage octagonal glasses. Malheureusement every pair that I've come across has been either dreadfully rusty, cracked beyond repair, or in one memorable case, affected with a peculiar and unequivocal fishy stench. Have no fear... Nader Zadi is here! Zadi creates made-to-order eyewear from antique components and frames. Glasses case closed!

My friend Angela, who is one-third of the super talented Threeasfour team, stopped by the office yesterday afternoon with a girl named Fred in tow. Turns out Fred Butler is from London, was one of Threeasfour's very first interns and is now making her very first line of amazing, super-colorful, imaginative accessories. Pictured above is Angela (right) and Fred (left) looking quite cute (no?) especially for 2 p.m. on a Monday afternoon. Fred's necklaces and sequinned jewels (see photos) are not yet available in NYC but after more people get a look at it you can bet it won't be long!

With the upcoming Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy exhibition opening at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum on May 7, countless hero-worshipping articles are scrawling the pages of nearly every fashion (and some non) publication as of late. I've been majorly bummed however that not one has featured the buoyant Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot 1968 duet "Comic Strip"! This is especially surprising since Nathan Crowley's Met exhibit design creates the illusion of actually being trapped inside a comic strip -- with its dropped grid ceiling, ultra glossy white floors, exceptionally angular vignettes, backdrops abounding with superhero symbols, panoramic Gotham skylines and mammoth mirrors painstakingly positioned at angles which let attendees see the beginning and end of the show from any position.

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I met the cutest new fashion-loving friend on Facebook this year. Her name is Julia Frakes and here she is! At just 18 years old living at home in Scranton, PA, she is so cute, so obsessed, so knowledgable and so enthusiastic about fashion that I couldn't resist inviting her to contribute to my blog for the next few months. (Something I have never done before). I thought it would be fun to have her super fun and young perspective (a good contrast to my old hag fashion perspective) and obsessed fashion energy on Fashion Schmashion. I decided to do a little "get to know you" first, so I asked her a few questions.

Kim Hastreiter: I met you on Facebook... and we have now invited you to do the PAPER facebook page. Have you met a lot of fun people on Facebook?
Julia Frakes:I have indeed! It's been quite the unexpected flossy flossy socialista whirlwind!

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It's amazing for me to think that Keith Haring would have turned 50 this week. And there are lots of celebrations in his memory. I knew Keith in the olden days and watched him go from a crazy art student to a world renowned artist who eventually died of AIDS. Yup, it was the moment when Keith was coming up. (Check the essay I wrote about those years for the KH retrospective in Milan a few years ago.) To celebrate this amazing guy, some of his longtime friends have organized everything from a recreation of his famous annual dance "Party of Life" (yes kids, Keith's friend Junior Vasquez and Louis Vega are DJing!) this May 4th from 9 p.m.-4 a.m. at at Pacha (618 W. 46th St.) to the recreation of one of his early murals on Houston and Bowery that goes up for a month that same afternoon thanks to Jeffrey Deitch. You can also still get tickets to see the documentary The Universe of Keith Haring, screening at the Tribeca Film Festival this week. (And hey, I'm in it! Here is the trailer.)

For more info on Party of Life tickets benefiting the AIDS WALK go here .

I love the fact that Karl Lagerfeld is a DJ character in the new Grand Theft Auto IV released last week. DJ Karl mixes electro from his own playlist all through the Rockstar Games' new video release. Cute, no?

I just spoke to my friend Marsea Goldberg from New Image Art, my favorite gallery in LA, who is getting ready to open a really good show tomorrow night by superhero-loving Aussie artist Anthony Lister. I met Lister (as they call him) thru my nephew George who often performs at Lister's shows, playing a demented, maniac, Batman-type character who is chained up during the show. Anyway he is super-talented and blowing up fast. I really love his work and wish I were in LA to go to the opening, but thought I'd throw it up here for all you Los Angelinos who are reading PAPERMAG. Go see the show. My super favorite piece is the green girl with buck teeth drinking champagne (see below). But I love lots more, especially his masks and the green-haired joker. Check out a sneak peek photo (pictured above) of the installation someone sent me today! New Image Art, 7908 Santa Monica Blvd. (near Fairfax)

Photos by Curtis Kulig

Here is Erin Fetherston's newest fashion film directed by Ellen Von Unwerth starring her friend Zooey Deschanel. It's all very ragamuffin looking, but cute.

Art connoisseurs in the UK are eagerly awaiting the spring opening of Damien Hirst's first "art store" in Marylebone, England. Hirst signed a ten year lease and is hoping to open a whole "chain" of art stores where he will sell art books, artist's editions, prints, clothing and more. The shop will be called Other Criteria, and for those who just can't wait to snatch up one of Hirst's amazing gold charm bracelets featuring a dangling assortment of gold pills (for just under 50 grand ) you can buy one from OC online here.. Don't worry if you can't afford the drug bracelet, you can still get a cool Damien Hirst T-shirt for a mere 85 bucks. Or his gorgeous set of a dozen porcelain dishes for $19,000.

My friends Threeasfour's cute white shirt and dress are finally on the racks at the GAP -- so snatch these collectors items up fast. Check out their photo in the windows!

So tonight is the big Murakami gala opening at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The show has come here from MOCA. and as in L.A., Louis Vuitton is sponsoring the gala and a "shop." But the most amazing Louis Vuitton idea that Murakami had I read about in WWD this morning. It seems as though the artist is collaborating with LV on an art+commerce piece that is a commentary on FAKES, which as we know, is a huge issue for luxe brands like Vuitton. As part of the exhibit, Murakami and LV will be placing eight "pocketbook" street vendors on the street in front of the museum selling REAL Vuitton bags that were specially designed by Murakami and LV for this particular piece. Of course I am gagging about this and am plotting to go there and get one of these. Isnt that the coolest? Plus HOW AMAZING AND ENLIGHTENED is it that the Vuitton execs agreed to go along with Murakami's preposterous idea of doing this? Ya gotta hand it to them.