Karl Lagerfeld understands decor as well as he knows fashion. The premises for his new signature collections Lagerfeld and Karl are an opulently minimal series of salons in an hôtel particulier on the Left Bank, so it made sense that the food for the dinner party he hosted on Wednesday night to launch the lines should also focus on the bare opulent essentials: caviar, foie gras, and lobster, with a logo-fied iPad as a takeaway. One of the T-shirts in his Karl range features a fanciful self-portrait with the handwritten message “I Love Gossip.” Plenty of that in a room full of fashion people, though I spent much of the night talking about obscure Eastern European films with the encyclopedically informed Anja Rubik. How often do you get the chance to have a real talk with anyone about Dusan Makavejev’s scatological Sweet Movie? Especially while chunks of foie gras are drifting back and forth under your nose.

Rubik stars in the commercial that Trey Laird made for the launch of Lagerfeld. It was pre-loaded on the iPad. Sui He is also in the ad. She spoke no English when she arrived in New York a year ago but now sounds as politely precise as an elocutionist. On the day of the shoot, Sui was intimidated by the ease of the more experienced models. “It was like a competition,” she said. Everyone’s a winner in the finished product, which premiered at the dinner, but Sui seemed a little taken aback at how persuasive she was as a minx.

—Brittany Adams

Avon feted the 20th anniversary of its Anew skincare line Wednesday night with a celebration of the decade in which it launched. “Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air” star Alfonso Ribeiro served as the evening’s mystery guest, regaling the crowd with his signature “Carlton dance,” while the event’s soundtrack consisted of Hanson, Blind Melon, Hootie & the Blowfish and other era-appropriate selections. And most important, ’90s supermodel Paulina Porizkova, the face of Anew, was on hand to answer our questions about aging gracefully, beauty regrets and the merits of riding a scooter.

What’s your top beauty tip?
Stay out of the sun. I’ve stayed out of the sun since my mid-20s. If I’m going on vacation, I’m sunbathing, but I have SPF on. And I always keep my face out of it more than in it.

PARIS – Is life just a dream? It certainly seemed to be in the diaphanous, nearly all-white and haunting spring-summer collection from Valentino on Wednesday that ended Paris’ haute couture week.

Models in sparkling lace choker collars and long smocked taffeta dresses appeared like ghosts, floating through the show’s neoclassical venue.

For fans of couture, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli’s creations were an instant hit. But they weren’t the real stars of the show.

Loafers used to get us thinking of comfortable footwear for dads of a certain age. No longer. The shoes previously reserved for fatherly figures and private school teens are making appearances on the most stylish gals ever since Alexander Wang paraded a metallic version down his fall 2011 runway. Stefano Pilati updated the style when he showed loafers emblazoned with a metallic plate at his spring 2012 Yves Saint Laurent show. Pair them with cropped pants to show off a bit of ankle, and when summer comes along they’ll be the perfect compliment to a cute pair of shorts.

We’ve been a little spoiled lately with all the glitz and glamour of the Golden Globes and the surrounding parties. Seeing celebrities run around town in jeans and flats feels like a let-down; that said, we here at Stylelist actually appreciate relaxed style.

We’ve teamed up with Greta Larkins, the genius behind the brilliant tumblr FashGif in a weekly series of animated fashion shots.

This week, FashGif takes on this evening dress from Giambattista Valli’s Spring 2012 Couture. What a wild bow!

For previous Fashion Gifs, take a peek in our gallery below:

“A Look Back” is a daily column that highlights a moment from fashion’s fabulous past. Today’s pick is American singer, novelist and model (who famously dated Mick Jagger) Marsha Hunt posing in the 1970s. How amazing is her hair?

Redferns

Take a look out our previous A Look Back photos in the slideshow below.

Estonian model Merilin Perli may only be 17 years old, but she has already walked for some of fashion’s biggest designers including Calvin Klein, Chanel and Prada. First making an appearance on the international fashion scene in June 2011 when she modeled Prada’s resort collection, Perli has since landed editorials in Dazed & Confused, Lula and Vogue Russia. Though she is still in school, Perli is planning to take on fashion week this February, and we have no doubt that she will take the scene by storm. What’s next for this new face? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Marilyn Model Merilin Perli. Photograph by Emanuela de Paula