Among the latest designer-retailer collaborations, Norma Kamali will launch a line of sleepwear at Wal-Mart this fall. [WWD] (Subscription required)

Times fashion critic Booth Moore wrote about Burberry's makeover on Sunday, and it's continuing with a big push into China, where the design firm just completed a $107.8-million deal to purchase retail operations. [WWD] (Subscription required)

Now even mannequins are entering the size wars: Those used at Club Monaco look "emaciated," some observers say. [Huffington Post]

The Fashion Group International plans to honor Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquiere with its Superstar Award at its annual gala this fall. [WWD]  

Jennifer Aniston's new perfume, Lolavie, will launch exclusively at Harrod's in London this week, and she's starring in a racy ad campaign to promote the fragrance. [Daily Mail]

We just love weddings (it's the dresses!) here at All the Rage, and we love the strapless Ines Di Santo gown that Julie Landrum wore Saturday at her Newport Beach wedding to Boston Celtics player Paul Pierce. [People]

And some girls really know how to maximize the wedding gown opportunity: Carrie Underwood wore two Monique Lhuillier dresses for her marriage: one for the ceremony, and one for dancing at the reception. [People] 

George Clooney testified in an Italian court in a case involving clothing forgers who fraudulently put his name on a fashion line. [The Cut]

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Nicolas Ghesquiere  Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times 

Gossip, first impressions, trends in the making, celebrities and style setters. A regular feature by fashion critic Booth Moore.

New York Fashion Week is a little over a week away, and it's shaping up to be a tough season. Not only is the economy a challenge, so is the Internet. The speed with which photos of runway looks travel around the world is making the whole seasonal exercise of fashion weeks seem more and more ridiculous. (Designers traditionally show their collections six months in advance for store buyers and the media, so we're getting ready to see spring '10.) Because by the time a designer original hits the racks, you've already bought the knockoff at Zara or are on to something else completely.

So it's no surprise that designers are rethinking how they can use the Internet to their advantage, including Norma Kamali, whose presentation titled "The Democratization of Fashion" will be held on Sept. 17 at the Soho Apple store. 

 “Between new technology and the economy, the fashion industry will never be the same,” explained the New York designer whose greatest hits over the last three decades have included parachute dresses, sleeping bag coats, Grecian gowns and screen-siren swimwear. “It makes you stand back and say, ‘If I continue doing what I’m doing, I may not stay in business. It’s time to rethink and look at what’s working and what’s not.'”