"Glee" is back, and I noticed right away how much more sophisticated-than-school-girlish Lea Michele's character, Rachel, looks: sleek new hairstyle with bangs, a chic fitted dress as she belted "What I Did for Love." Of course, the slouchy socks let us know Rachel is still in high school. Sue Sylvester might have actually been imparting a worthwhile message for teens when she railed against Santana's new surgically enhanced upper body. And if anyone ever doubted the way clothes and style can build a character, just look at what happened as soon as Dianna Agron's Quinn slipped back into a Cheerios uniform and pulled her hair into a tight ponytail. Mee-ow! [MTV]

Victoria Beckham may finally have arrived as a fashion designer: She just showed her fifth season collection during New York Fashion Week and landed on the cover of Women's Wear Daily. She's supported by celebrities such as Demi Moore, Drew Barrymore and Gwyneth Paltrow; she dressed Sarah Jessica Parker for a White House event; and she was on "The View" last week to talk about it all. She says she works hard at design. The secret to her success? Celebrating a woman's curves, she says. [People]

The last night of London Fashion Week belonged to supermodels Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss as they threw parties on the same street. Campbell celebrated 25 years in fashion at the Dolce & Gabbana store on Old Bond Street, promoting a line of limited-edition tees. Moss was not too far away at the Longchamp store, launching her handbag line for the French luxury company. [Telegraph]  

A $60-million deal has saved bankrupt jeans purveyor Rock & Republic. [New York Post]

Art director-turned-photographer Richard Phibbs has a new book of his work, "Chasing Beauty," to be published in October by powerHouse Books. Phibbs has shot portraits of luminaries including Hillary Rodham Clinton and Pedro Almodovar, as well as campaigns for fashion houses Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren. His work is on display at Lauren's Paris flagship. [WWD] 

Trend or gimmick? Some older -- and we mean much, much older -- models are showing up on some international runways. Verushka, at 71 on the Giles Deacon catwalk at London Fashion Week, and four over-60 ladies at Spanish designer Juan Duyos' Madrid Fashion Week showing, for instance. [Metro.co.UK]

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Lea Michele, shown at the recent premiere party for "Glee's" second season. Credit: Chris Pizzello /Associated Press

A flurry of hirings and firings in the fashion industry this week, most notably at Alexander McQueen, where Sarah Burton has been appointed creative director. Burton is a longtime colleague of McQueen's, who began working with him in 1996. She has been the head of women's wear design since 2000. 

Jonathan Akeroyd, president and CEO of Alexander McQueen, said in a statement: “We are delighted that Sarah has agreed to take on the role of creative director. Having worked alongside Lee McQueen for more than 14 years, she has a deep understanding of his vision, which will allow the company to stay true to its core values. Sarah is extremely talented and under her creative leadership we are ready to enter a new phase in the brands history.“

Robert Polet, president and CEO of Gucci Group, added: “As a business we remain absolutely
committed to the Alexander McQueen company, which has proven to have strong customer loyalty
and has shown to be a resilient brand in the aftermath of the tragic loss of its founder. Sarah has real talent, a close understanding of the brand, and the vision necessary to take it forward. We will be giving full support to Sarah and the team in the coming years"

Burton was born in Manchester and educated at Central Saint Martins. Gucci Group has a substantial commitment to the McQueen brand, which has five stand-alone boutiques around the world and hundreds of retail accounts, so there was no chance that it was going to be shut down. Several names were bandied about as possible replacements for McQueen, including Gareth Pugh, who has a similar dark vision to the late designer's. But replacing one big personality with another was probably not the right thing to do straight off. While no one will be able to approach McQueen's genius, Burton seems like the logical person to try. 

Kate Moss' new coffee table tome will cost -- gulp!-- $472 for 128 pages. But only 1,500 are being published, making it a rare edition, indeed. [Huffington Post]

Erin Fetherston signs on to design for Juicy Couture. [StyleList] 

Designer Tara Subkoff talks about surviving a brain tumor -- without health insurance. [Harper's Bazaar]

Louis Licari on the importance of looking good every day -- and some shortcuts for how to do it in a hurry. [Huffington Post]

The armful of bangles First Lady Michelle Obama wore when she arrived in Mexico last week were eco-friendly sustainable jewelry by Monique Pean. [Huffington Post]

Speaking of our first lady, across the pond they are debating what is really important in the upcoming British elections: Which candidate's wife is a worthy sartorial competitor? [Telegraph]

While we've all been worrying about underage models, some designers are going for the gray-haired look, saying they prefer more mature women to carry off their sophisticated designs. [Miami Herald]  

Will British designer Giles Deacon follow Estrella Archs as the creative force at Ungaro? [Telegraph]

Norma Kamali designs sassy swimwear for spring. [Lollie Shopping]

Gap is launching a new Premium Pant collection for men and women. [WWD]

Steven Alan + Keds go on sale May 1. [Fashionista] 

Style blogger Garance Dore enters the size wars. [NYMag]

Kelly Cutrone launches a YouTube channel to satisfy our "Kell on Earth" withdrawal perhaps. [SHEfind]

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Kate Moss in 2009  Credit: Stuart Ramson / Associated Press

It was a wonderful start to Paris Fashion Week to see a collection as focused as Dries Van Noten's. The Belgian designer pared down the ethnic embellishment and Ikat prints of spring in favor of something more tailored and military-influenced for fall.

Standout pieces included a herringbone pants suit with darts pinching the waist of the jacket, fantastic utility pants with zippers or straps to cinch and taper them at the ankles, and a military flack jacket with gilded embroidery on the sleeves.

Not forgetting the feminine side of the fall season's masculine/feminine equation, there were also painterly blue floral print satin skirts in full, 1950s silhouettes, and the simplest gold lame dress with 3/4 sleeves that is one of those forever wardrobe building blocks.

Speaking of blocks, the block-heeled pumps looked very fresh in leather, satin, or most intriguingly, tweed.