So even if you didn’t catch the VMAs earlier this month (we forgive you, by the way), you probably heard about Kanye—which, of course, is precisely the way Kanye likes it. The majority of the post-show coverage focused on the premier performance of Mr. West’s new tune “Love Lockdown,” an R&B ballad from his forthcoming album 808’s & Heartbreak (due out December 16th). Never one to stay far from the spotlight for long, Kanye posted a studio version of the track to his blog just three days later. Not a bad song, we thought. Still, all those auto-tuned vocals were a little much. (Though the cover art for the single is pitch perfect.) Then, two days ago, Kanye posted another, remixed version for our listening pleasure. “Your prayers have been answered!! There's a new version of Love Lockdown coming,” Kanye exclaimed the day before. “We used new taiko drums and I re-sung it... it's being Mastered now...."  read more »

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's West Village neighbors are becoming increasingly irritated by the girls' "military presence" on their block. [P6] 

Kanye West was arrested yesterday for breaking a photographer's camera at LAX. [TMZ] 

At the premiere of their joint venture, Righteous Kill, neither Robert De Niro nor Al Pacino would comment on the swipe director Francis Ford Coppola took at the two of them in GQ. [NYDN]

Barack Obama will join Michael Phelps on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live this weekend. [People]   read more »

At 8:30 p.m. on Monday, September 8, the bi-annual paparazzi bloodbath had already started outside the Marc Jacobs show. Gawkers and cameramen lined Lexington Avenue, which was clogged with town cars, while security guards admitted guests to the Lexington Avenue Armory, a sign that the designer intended to start on time-at 9 p.m. (who could forget the show a year ago, when attendees appearing at the appointed hour were told to "get a drink and come back?").

Inside, the flashbulbs were blinding, accompanied by desperate shouts every time a Kelly Osborne, or a Kim Raver from Lipstick Jungle, or a J. Lo, or a freshly shorn and dyed and pixie-ish Victoria Beckham arrived.

"I'm really a plus one," said bewildered painter John Currin, taking in the scene with wife Rachel Feinstein, an artist and friend of Mr. Jacobs'. "People are better looking," he added, appraising the difference between art and fashion parties. "There's a lot more money, I think, and better-looking women."  read more »

Carolina Herrera, who was ready to begin her show on time this morning, had to wait for special guest Renee Zellweger to arrive. [WWD]

Rachel Zoe felt sorry for herself, but then she got her own reality show. [NY Post] 

Sheer is in for Spring. [The Cut] 

Editors at Justin Timberlake's William Rast show were disappointed upon learning that the pop star would not be performing for them. [WWD] 

Christy Turlington is studying "maternal and child health" at Columbia. [Vogue UK]

Guests at Thakoon's show today were furious as the show started almost an hour late due to Kanye West's late arrival. [WWD] 

Athletes like Maria Sharapova and Nastia Liukin are the new celebrities in the front rows of fashion week. [WWD] 

It started a couple of weeks ago, with the unlikeliest of progenitors: The Boss.

Bruce Springsteen dedicated a live rendition of his hit "Born In The U.S.A." to Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. Everybody cheered, even though that song isn't really a "go America!" kind of song at heart, and after all these years of defending it, Bruce should know better, but whatever. Good feelings, yes?

No. When confronted with the honor, Phelps shrugged it off, and admitted he was more into hip-hop.

In fact, he put forth, he listens to Young Jeezy to get psyched up for events. Guess he's never heard "Jungleland." Not one to miss an opening in the news cycle, Young Jeezy promptly stepped forward and pronounced Mr.  read more »

Billy Joel and wife Katie Lee held an end-of-summer barbeque in Sagaponack, where Howard Stern played beer pong against Ivanka Trump.  [NYDN]

Levi Johnston, the young gentleman behind 17-year-old Bristol’s Palin’s pregnancy, has changed his Myspace status to “In A Relationship” but still seems a bit ambivalent about his new role. [US Weekly]

A group of “concerned citizens” calling themselves Anonymous plans to picket the opening night of Katie Holmes’s Broadway debut in All My Sons in an effort to “save” the actress. We wish them the best of luck. [The Scoop]  read more »

To celebrate the end of the summer, we decided it would be a fun time to make a playlist of the songs we loved most over the last couple of months.

The Hold Steady's "Constructive Summer"? Check.

Albert Hammond, Jr.'s "GFC"? Check.

Estelle's "American Boy" featuring Kanye West? Ummmmmm, nope.

Much to our surprise, the pop song of the summer (apologies to Ms. Katy Perry) wasn't even available on iTunes when we went to download it this weekend! Insultingly, in its place, was some knock-off version that shockingly ranks #14 on the iTunes Top Songs list.  read more »

On Thursday evening, Kevin Christiana, a Project Runway Season Four veteran, watched as the principal cast of Traitor celebrated the New York premiere of their film at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza. Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, and Saïd Taghmaoui squeezed onto a pair of plush red couches with Jeffrey Nachmanoff, who is making his directorial debut. The Daily Transom wouldn't have pegged Mr. Christina as a fan of international adventure thrillers about counter-espionage operations, but then again, isn't that just a microcosm for Project Runway these days?

"It's a show!" sighed Mr. Christiana, when queried about a recent New York magazine article that chronicled the rivalry between Project Runway judge and recent Marie Claire hire Nina Garcia, and Anne Slowey, Fashion News Director at Elle and the Miranda Priestly-esque star of the CW's forthcoming battle-of-the-fashion-assistants Stylista.  read more »

Roseanne Barr has a blog! And, as Page Six has reported, she’s using it to attack Angelina Jolie for failing to officially endorse Barack Obama’s candidacy. In open letter to the mother of—six now, right?--yesterday, Ms. Barr writes:

...Miss jolie says she likes mccain too and hasn't decided who to endorse....huh? Aren't you supposed to be somewhat enlightened, or do you not know that the african daughter you hold in every picture had parents who suffered and died because of the republican party's worldwide economic assault on africa over the last few decades since reagan? whaaaa...??????!!!! (for that matter, the thai and cambodian sons you are photo'd with weekly too who's pictures you sell to raise money to help the poor? Their families are victims of America's right wing military incursions too…Now go back to making your movies about women who love to handle big guns that shoot hundreds of people to death.

 read more »

Kanye West might collaborate on a line of clothing with the Gap, or appear in a Gap commercial, or both! The hip hop artists was spotted this afternoon in Gap's corporate NYC offices. [Jezebel]

Cartier has filed suit against Donna Karan, charging the designer with stealing the name of the luxury jewelry maker's Tank watch by selling her own model called the Women's Ion-Plated Tank Watch. Cartier's version costs $10,000 and up; Ms. Karan's is $115. [NY Post]

Richie Rich said that his wonderfully whimsical Heatherette line, which he designs with Trevor Rains, is far from being over--even though both of the designers are taking a break from it. [The Cut]  read more »