PLAY TIME: Leave it to John Galliano to be fashionably late for the launch of his signature timepiece range. The designer cruised in to his Paris flagship at just past 9 p.m. on Monday night to whoops and applause from awaiting guests including French actors Hafsia Herzi, Frédérique Bel, Julie Depardieu and Tomer Sisley, as well as jewelry designer Harumi Klossowska. “I’m always on time, like the Queen of England,” the designer quipped, as Galliano president Sidney Toledano grabbed a pair of men’s shades from a rack to pose for pictures with him. “Very mafioso,” commented Galliano, shod in a pair of studded shoes. Old pocket watches collected from flea markets from around the world partly inspired the collection, according to Galliano, who revealed he has also been busy casting Dior’s spring campaign. And the chosen girl? Karlie Kloss.
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JACOBS SIGNS UP: Marc Jacobs is doing his charitable part for the upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF). The designer has autographed 10 handbags, which are being displayed at the TIFF movie cafe in the upscale Roppongi Hills complex until Oct. 25. Customers can enter a drawing to win one of the bags by making a charitable donation on the brand’s Web site. All funds collected will be donated to The Climate Project, former vice president Al Gore’s nonprofit organization that works to raise awareness of global warming.
BOOK ’EM: What’s a new gadget without a fashion component? In launching its much-hyped proprietary e-Book reader, dubbed Nook, Barnes & Noble has tapped several designers to add some flair. Kate Spade, Jack Spade, Jonathan Adler and Tahari are the first fashion brands to create cases for the $259 device, which boasts a color touchscreen for navigation, 3G technology and Wi-Fi access to choose from 10 million books. Prices for the cases range from $19.95 to about $125. The firm is taking preorders for the Nook on nook.com, and it will hit the retailer’s 1,300 stores starting next month.
IN THE PINK: To promote the debut of its new crime drama “White Collar,” USA Network has partnered with Thomas Pink to give away more than 1,000 men’s and women’s dress shirts to the public this Thursday and Friday at a pop-up shop in Rockefeller Center. Tailors will be on hand for one-on-one consultations to custom fit the shirts, and the show’s stars — Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay and Tiffani Thiessen — will make an appearance at 9 a.m. on Friday. The trio will also be at a Vanity Fair-hosted in-store event at the Thomas Pink store on Madison Avenue on Wednesday evening.
DEVON NATION: On Thursday, Lyn Devon does Dallas. The New York-based designer will hold a trunk show and luncheon at Highland Park boutique Sartel. And it turns out she’s got the inside connection. Devon is old friends with Lily Atherton Hanbury, who cofounded the store (and the Sartel label) with designer Matthew Earnest. “It just made perfect sense to pair up and introduce my collection to Dallas through them,” said Devon, who plans on hitting the local line-dancing circuit as part of this first-ever trip to the city. Come Nov. 4, the designer is heading West to Los Angeles for a luncheon-cum-shopping event, hosted by Elizabeth Stewart, to benefit P.S. Arts. Twenty percent of those spring preorders will go toward the nonprofit organization.
CARRIE HEADS EAST: Carrie Underwood kicked off a nine-day celebration for the opening of Singapore’s new luxury shopping mall ION Orchard. On Friday night, the 2005 “American Idol” winner, clad in a spangly silver tank top, black jeans and knee-high stiletto-heel boots, wowed shoppers as they screamed her name and snapped pictures. The country singer rocked the crowd with a 45-minute set that included her repertoire of hits, as well as her new single, “Mama’s Son.” Underwood, who releases her fourth album, “Play On,” early next month, admitted she’s developed some shopaholic tendencies since her career took off a few years ago. “I grew up in Oklahoma and we don’t have a lot of malls like this,” she said, adding that BCBG Max Azria is one of her favorite brands. “I’m good at either the sweats and stuff, or the glamorous gowns with jewelry. It’s the middle ground I’m not so good at.”
BRITS IN BULGARI: “It’s nice to go to a party and wear high heels,” mused Margo Stilley at a cocktail hosted by British Vogue and Bulgari at London’s Saatchi Gallery last week. The actress explained she’d been on hiatus from the social scene while shooting a gritty film in Barcelona for the past eight weeks, thus was happy to glam up in an Yves Saint Laurent tuxedo suit and a Bulgari diamond choker for the night. The party — in honor of Bulgari’s charitable campaign with Save the Children, “Rewrite the Future,” which aims to provide education for children in conflict-affected areas — drew guests including Princess Michael of Kent, Lady Helen Taylor, Dominic Cooper, Bill Nighy, Peaches Geldof and Natalie Imbruglia. While Imbruglia happily showed off the Bulgari spider web diamond brooch and flower-shaped ring she was wearing, nonfamous guests alike were able to get their hands on Bulgari’s wares during the evening. Guests could purchase the engraved silver rings and pendants Bulgari has created to support the charity, and peruse the collection of 18 one-of-a-kind Bulgari jewels and timepieces that will be auctioned for the charity in New York in December.