bunny BISOUS

A Quick, Pre-Holiday Chit-Chat with America's Sweethearts Ali Michael & Karlie Kloss

After a few twee Christmasy tête-à-têtes over at PAPERMAG with Canada's Amours (top models Amanda Laine, Kate Somers, and Simona McIntyre) and "Planet Earth's [self-proclaimed] Favorite Third World Fag" – recently announced COACD Top Face – Bryanboy, I had the pleasure of catching up with all-American beauties Ali Michael and Karlie Kloss to dish on their kooky family traditions, nostalgia for the Nineties, and how they're giving back... not just throughout the holiday season. 

How long did you believe in Santa Claus? 

Ali Michael: I believed in Santa probably until I was about eight years old or so. Santa used to leave me a typed letter every Christmas morning. One day when I was looking through my mom's computer to find something for school, I accidently opened the folder that held the exact letters that Santa had left me. It was kind of devastating. 

Karlie Kloss: [chuckles] What are you talking about... I will always believe in Santa Claus!

Does your family have any quirky holiday traditions? 

Karlie Kloss: Well my poor dad was born on Christmas Day [December 25], so he has to "split his birthday" with Christmas: we always spend the entire first part of the day opening presents and enjoying Christmas morning, then at night all of the family comes over to celebrate his birthday! It's quite a day...

Ali Michael: We really don't do too much for Christmas – except get together with family – which is what it's really all about. 

Favorite holiday desert: 

Karlie Kloss: Definitely my gram's gingersnap cookies. 

Ali Michael: I can't imagine that any of my family members will go near any vegan treat that I attempt to make; but I'm loving warm raw cacao-coconut-almond milk at the moment! I want to try to make a raw vegan cheesecake or recreate Souen's carob brownies with pine nuts.

Favorite holiday film: 

Ali Michael: I grew up watching the original version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) and always have gotten a kick out of Tim Allen's The Santa Clause (1994). I feel like I'm back in the good old 1990's when I watch either of them. 

Karlie Kloss: It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965): it's a tie! 

Favorite charitable organization: 

Karlie Kloss: There are potentially too many incrediable charities to list... but one of my favorites is the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation because my mom survived breast cancer. 

Ali Michael: While it's not exactly a charitable organization, I just signed up as a volunteer for an organization called New York Cares. It's a really great placement program that connects people with a wide range of volunteer opportunities all throughout the city. When in Texas, I volunteer at a therapeutic horseback riding stable where I work with kids with mental and physical disabilities.

How do you plan to spend your holiday this year? 

Ali Michael: I'm spending my holiday with family in Texas. While it would be nice to see a "White Christmas" for once, I'm not complaining about having a break from the freezing New York weather. It's supposed to be sixty-five degrees [Fahrenheit] here on Christmas! 

Karlie Kloss: Enjoying time with family... and of course catching up on sleep!

a very merry everything,

bB jf

• Related: A Quick Pre-Holiday Chit-Chat with Bryan Boy [PAPERMAG]

• Related: A Quick Pre-Holiday Chit-Chat with Canadian Models Amanda Laine, Kate Somers & Simona McIntyre [PAPERMAG]

The internet at Paper is down – stay tuned for the "European edition" set to be published by the end of the week!

Battle of the Suits: Tom vs. Thom Ensues...

Tom Ford [left] and Thom Browne [right] contrast their trademark tuxedo tailoring

Among the more sparkling revelations of Tom Ford's Rules of Style feature in the new January Details, the designer mogul/film director/luminary of luxury less-than-crypticly divulges: "I hate the trend of short suit jackets. When a man’s butt is showing below the bottom of his jacket, I think it makes him look like a female flight attendant from the back— not my idea of sexy." 

His collocated Bergdorf Goodman Men's second and third floor showdown with fellow American suitor Thom Browne may in fact serve as a microcosm of a greater vying over the definition of masculinity in the twenty-first century luxe market – and as such, a gallant battleground of sorts over whose modern cut will reign supreme in the sartorial propinquity. Although their rivalry over disparate design ideologies will suitably remain as gentlemanly as the made-to-order maestros themselves, when Mr. Browne was asked whether he would indeed triumph in a fist-to-cuffs fight with Mr. Ford, he famously boasted: "I'm a stubborn Irishman, so I'd probably win." 

While his Central Park jogs (famously sporting his signature shrunken silhouette on every run) may help maintain his tiny physique, Thom's runway pursuits of the tennis leitmotif have done little to convince Suzy Menkes of his diminutive dissertation on crisp American menswear with his hallmark hoisted-up schoolboy proportions. Madame Menkes – who recently toured Tom Ford's new Milan menswear maison [below] – strayed from her usual propriety when describing what her fellow International Herald Tribune/New York Times fashion reporter Eric Wilson had just praised [above] by proclaiming Browne's Spring 2009 presentation as "a shriek for a shrink [rather] than a coherent vision of a new man with a newly filled closet." She asserted that he failed to properly infuse his trademark tailoring into his cuts at Brooks Brothers, instead lavishing on overly-literal, frivolous Roger Federer-inspired togs. Match point.

bB,

Julia

• Related: Karl Lagerfeld adores Tom Ford and his goods (erm, clothes): video interview with Kate Betts

Bunny Elf's Holiday Countdown: Luella X Linda Farrow Vintage Geek Glasses Online!

Luella Bartley and Linda Farrow's sought-after S/S 2008 collaboration square frame spectacles are finally available sur l'internet! The cult geek-chic lenses responsible for revamping Olga Sherer and Masha T. into lovably quirky Brit schoolgirls – an aesthetic no doubt brought to the fore by the season of yore's delicate-Liberty-printed-belle-cum-comic-book-nerd-meets-punky-Doc-Martin-spirit – are at long last procurable at Feathers London.

Want to see more of your bunny's gift picks? Be sure to procure the new December 2008/January 2009 Solange-fronted issue of Paper Magazine; I contributed to "The Best Holiday Gift Guide in the World" [pages 96-103]:

bunny BISOUS,
ox Julia

Related: Runway Report from London: Luella S/S 2009 [PAPERMAG Fashion Schmashion]

Tod's to Tap Lam for Couture Endeavor?

Rumor has it that Gwyneth-fronted Italian leather goods and shoe label Tod's is laying the groundwork for a potential couture accessories and footwear launch to coincide with the upcoming Paris Haute Couture Week in January 2009. As for whether or not Derek Lam – Tod's creative mastermind and all-around cutie (he was such a gent at his intimate Parisian cocktail party [pictured, above] to fête his eponymous collection that debuted during New York's Spring/Summer 2009 Fashion Week) – is set to design the professed ultra-luxe pieces is still nebulous... though distinctly foreseeable according to industry insiders.

 

After a long day of Paris showhopping, I headed to the Derek Lam cocktail presentation with brazilliant stylists Patti Wilson and Christine de Lassus where we had a nosh and reunited with Mr. Mickey. After catching up with a few lovely model amies, meeting the super fun Elle Japon team – speaking of which, your bunny truly makes a wee style cameo in this December's issue with a full-blown feature interview and spread (shot at my apartment) to come this Spring – as well as with my idols, Marylou Luther of the Fashion Group and Bill Cunningham of The New York Times just prior to their decoration ceremony: Marylou was awarded the Chevalier dans l'Ordre National des Arts et Lettres and Bill the Officier dans l'Ordre National des Arts et Lettres. 

More of my snapshots here.

bunny BISOUS,

ox jules