The runway music for Prabal Gurung’s Fall ‘11 collection: “Addicted to Love”—as interpreted by Florence + the Machine. It was a deliberate choice. For his Fall offering, Gurung channeled one of amour’s great addicts, the lovelorn Miss Havisham from Dickens’ Great Expectations. “It’s a book that I was given when I was probably 6 or 7 years old,” the designer explains. “At that time I was kind of unclear about who she was—she’s a crazy old lady, that’s what I thought. As I got older and kept going back to it, [I found that] there’s something extremely, extremely sad, but all of us can somehow relate to her. There’s something beautifully melancholic and romantic about giving everything up for love, giving so much.” The result: a catwalk full of runway girls imagined as young, still hopeful but already fraying Havishams.

The character lives again—just in time for the collection to hit stores—in the new branding images Gurung created for the first time with photographer Daniel Jackson, model Julia Saner, and his longtime stylist, Tiina Laakkonen. The images, debuting exclusively on Style.com, are not quite a campaign and will run online-only,wholesale Juicy Couture t-shirts, but the designer doesn’t rule out print ad spots at some time in the future. “For a new company like mine, the media budget is very limited,” he explained. “The resources that are online for free—Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr—it’s extremely crucial that we use those tools. These images [will] get picked up in China, picked up in random places traditional media would never reach.”
—Matthew Schneier

Photos: Daniel Jackson / Courtesy of Prabal Gurung

Summer is just around the corner, but if you’re like me, your toes aren’t groomed quite enough to reveal themselves in sandals just yet. That’s why I love a good ballet flat for spring — they offer more coverage while looking chic — and right now I’m really into this Topshop pair.

PHOTOS: See the best style finds from the latest issue

The bright jade color is so unexpected and vibrant,Wholesale Juicy Couture t-shirts, yet I swear it can be worn with just about anything. Plus, they’re super comfortable and cost just $32. All of the girls in the Us Weekly office are scooping them up, and they’re selling out fast so don’t wait to order a pair.

PHOTOS: Spring style essentials

By Sasha Charnin Morrison for Us Weekly. To read more of the Recessionista blog, click here.

AIRING CONCERNS: China urged the European Union to heed objections to EU plans to charge airlines for carbon emissions. Airlines flying to or from Europe must obtain certificates for the carbon dioxide they emit. They will get free credits to cover most flights this year but must buy or trade for credits to cover the rest.

FLYING ON FUMES: The charges,Wholesale Juicy Couture jackets, which took effect Sunday, aim to curb emissions of greenhouse gases. Airlines call them an improper tax. Ratings agency Fitch has warned that the conflict could spiral into a global trade dispute.

CHINA’S BIG STICK: Beijing could have unusually strong leverage in a possible dispute because its state-owned airlines carry large numbers of Chinese and other Asian tourists to Europe. Any disruption would hurt Europe’s travel industry when the continent is struggling with a debt crisis and high unemployment.

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) Garry Shandling, Kevin Pollak, Margaret Cho and other comedians are onboard for a festival at which they will curate classic films, provide commentary about them — and perform their own comedic material to boot.

The first Wayne Federman International Film Festival will be held January 12 to 14 at the Cinefamily in Los Angeles.

Federman appeared in an episode of “The Larry Sanders Show,” which starred Shandling,Wholesale Juicy Couture jackets, and has also had small roles in “40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Legally Blonde” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Federman has recruited six comedians for the festival, and each of them will curate one film. They will introduce the movie and participate in a Q&A afterward.

On the first day of the festival, Shandling will present a screening of Martin Scorsese’s “The King of Comedy,” followed by Cho’s presentation of John Schlesinger’s “Darling.”

The second day will see Paul F. Tompkins presenting Mike Leigh’s “Topsy-Turvy,” after which Doug Benson will present “Cocktail” as part of his ongoing series “Doug Benson’s Movie Interruption.”

Kevin Pollak will help close the festival with his presentation of “The In-Laws,” which starred Peter Falk and Alan Arkin. That will be followed by Andy Kindler’s presentation of Albert Brooks’ “Modern Romance.”

Admission to each presentation is $10, except for the “Cocktail” screening, which will cost $12.