Also, Virtual MTV will have a virtual meet-and-greet to introduce the designers to the world as avatars. More information, including the designers' fashion sketches, will be available for in-world users to choose which designer has the best work. Aoki told WWD that in addition to the micro-series, he is in the early stages of creating a women's clothing line with sister and model Devon Aoki. The "sophisticated" line will be in partnership with Ksubi and will feature denim, sunglasses, sweaters, jackets, T-shirts and more, he added. They expect to launch the collection in fall 2008.

But who will be the Lauren and Brody of the fashion world? — Amy Wicks

REDESIGNING THE CROWD: Re-creating an icon requires a dash of imagination and a spoonful of risk. At The New Yorker Festival panel on costume design, Emmy Award-winning costume designer Patricia Field said of dressing the fearsome fashion editrix of "The Devil Wears Prada," "I don't copy and document, it's too boring. Meryl Streep is a German, big-boned, different woman. No way I was going to apply Anna Wintour's look to Meryl Streep; it would have been a mess." Fellow panelists Colleen Atwood of "Chicago" and "Memoirs of a Geisha"; Patrizia von Brandenstein of "Saturday Night Fever" and "Amadeus", and five-time Tony Award-winning Broadway costume designer William Ivey Long were asked if New Yorkers on the subway were ever a source of inspiration. "It's exhausting!" Ivey Long answered sassily. "By the time I'm done redesigning all the people, I'm exhausted." The panelists cited contemporary movies as the most challenging to design for due to the quick turnover of style with mass-produced clothing stores like Forever 21 and H&M, an audience's preconceived notion of characters and specific modes of dress. During the question-and-answer portion, audience members repeatedly asked Field about how she made "Sex in the City" character Carrie Bradshaw's now-iconic style relevant then and now. "I'm just declaring it so. I know I look like I have a crystal ball or gypsy tea, but I don't," stated Field. But with her silver doorknocker earrings, turquoise eyeglasses, metal-studded belt, and black bandage dress, it's hard to imagine Field didn't use her own reflection as a muse. — Jacinta Green