Believe it. Rodarte’s Kate and Laura Mulleavy are Target’s next GO International designers, joining a group that includes Thakoon Panichgul, Richard Chai, Rogan, and Erin Fetherston. The 55-piece collection launches on December 20. On the face of it, it’s undeniably exciting news. The sisters, who just snagged the CFDA Designer of the Year Award, have been industry darlings since they burst on the scene with a tiny handmade collection of eight dresses and two coats in 2005. And since then, they’ve consistently refined and advanced their vision, usually sending the fashion crowd into a gushing, post-show tizzy. But one of the qualities that’s made the quirky duo so very beloved is their near-couture level of craftsmanship paired with their reluctance to water that down. Past Target collections, like Panichgul’s and Chai’s, have been a sort of inexpensively made compendium of a designer’s very recognizable greatest hits. What can we expect to see from Rodarte? WWD quotes a Target spokesman as saying that the collection has “everything from sequins and bows to faux fur” and “a great variety of holiday dresses.” (There’s no word on leather jackets, diamond cutout leggings, or gauzy knits.)

What do you think? Will Rodarte’s vision translate in a satisfactory form to the mass market? Which Rodarte look do you want for less?—Meenal Mistry

Attention, beefcakes: Calvin Klein is looking for a man who “embodies the attributes of a Calvin Klein Underwear model.” In other words, must be well read, cosmopolitan, multilingual, and good with kids. Did we forget anything? [WWD]

Cynthia Rowley goes baby crazy, calls it Hooray. [WWD]

Take a peek into Veronica Webb’s super-organized closet, T-shirt labels and all. [WSJ]

The ladies at The Cut test-walked Rodarte’s hip-high Nicholas Kirkwoods, Nina Ricci’s claw bootie, and Manolo Blahnik’s stilettos for Brian Reyes, among others. The verdict? Mostly ouch. [The Cut]

Jason Wu hasn’t had a cup of coffee in six days. Stay strong. [HuffPo]

Karlie Kloss turned 17 this weekend at Disney World, mouse ears included. Is this an audition for next season’s Stella McCartney campaign? [Vogue U.K.]—Alison Baenen

Photo: Courtesy of Calvin Klein

If you’re a fashion diehard based below the Mason-Dixon, chances are your go-to boutique is Capitol, Laura Vinroot Poole’s ten-year-old Charlotte institution. She specializes in cherry-picking key pieces from the season’s top collections. For Fall, think Balmain jackets, Dries Van Noten’s brightly hued separates, and dramatic gowns from Olivier Theyskens’ final season at Nina Ricci. Vinroot Poole also champions up-and-coming designers. Her select this season: Joseph Altuzarra for his collection of body-con dresses and sexy thigh-high boots.

Any items with wait lists?

LVP: Proenza Schouler’s P.S.1 bag, Balmain’s pagoda-shoulder jacket, everything from Alaïa, and Golden Goose trainers.

What do you anticipate will be your biggest sellers?

LVP: Altuzarra (particularly his thigh-high boots and any of the lavender pieces), Givenchy, Rodarte, Nicholas Kirkwood, The Row, and Vanessa Bruno.

How are shoppers buying differently now from a year ago?

LVP: Certainly, clients are more careful and have scaled back their purchases somewhat, but most buying patterns here are the same as they’ve ever been. Each piece must be thoughtfully woven into a customer’s wardrobe and must tell an evolving story about her life. Items are typically all purchased for specific occasions.

Which new lines are you excited about?

LVP: Altuzarra, Nina Ricci handbags, and Devi Kroell’s RTW line.

Is there anything you saw on the runway that you knew you had to have?

LVP: Dries Van Noten’s collection based on the colors from Francis Bacon’s works are perfect for sunny North Carolina…the colors were glorious! Balenciaga’s long-sleeve cocktail dresses were lovely and appropriate for the South—beautiful and sexy, yet well-mannered. I was crazy over Jeremy Laing’s Flame tunics. The collection was inspired by a trip to Charlotte (NASCAR country) and a private tour of Hendrick Motorsports. I’m also excited for Olivier Theyskens’ last collection for Nina Ricci. We’ve carried him from his original collection under his own name, then to Rochas, and on to Nina Ricci. He is exceedingly talented and I will follow him wherever he lands next!

Click to see a slideshow of Vinroot Poole’s top fall picks.

—Romney Leader

Rodarte has an agent. The famously film-loving sisters are now being represented by William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, which means that maybe the pair will be costuming, producing, and starring in their own anime horror flick. Maybe?! [WWD]

And now, a clutch to go with that Marchesa gown. The super-fancy-dress ladies are introducing handbags, sure to be swoon-worthy and bedecked with feathers. [WWD]

There’s a one-shot sneak peak at a Jimmy Choo for H&M shoe making the blogosphere rounds. The boot in question is over-the-knee, maybe leather, and just under $350. We’re not sure if that’s cheap or pricey. Thoughts? [Nitrolicious]—Alison Baenen

Photo: Courtesy of Jimmy Choo for H&M

When the smoke cleared yesterday, the Rodarte girls had some serious celebrating to do at Grotto, the subterranean hangout on the Lower East Side where they threw their after-party. Anouck Lepère, Justin Bond, and Michelle Obama fashion adviser Ikram Goldman negotiated their way through the bar’s narrow corridors to lounge in the backyard. Back inside, a dance party took shape. Kirsten Dunst was bopping to “The Time of My Life,” and Jason Schwartzman was getting out of character. “I don’t really go out to places where you can’t hear people talking, so this is very bizarre,” the actor mused. “I love this song, obviously.”—Darrell Hartman

Photo: Courtesy of Rodarte

What inspired me to climb three sets of stairs to see a new collection? The magic word: Rodarte. Will McLeod interned with the Mulleavy sisters in California as well as with Angel Sanchez before launching his own collection this week. With training like that, you can bet he didn’t debut with classic American sportswear. Rather, he showed exactly seven pieces, mostly of organdy, featuring graduated colors, cascades, and pleated ruffles. If their movement resembles that of water, it was intentional. McLeod, a Brooklyn-based Southerner, was in a beachy frame of mind when he designed. But maybe not a Club Med type of beach—the filmy pieces were accessorized with pottery necklaces (made by McLeod’s father) that looked like bloody shark’s teeth. The Mulleavy sisters would no doubt approve.—Laird Borrelli-Persson

Jean Paul Gaultier is the latest designer rumored to be getting the Target treatment. First Rodarte, now the French…what’s next? Maybe a diffusion line of looks from Cristobal Balenciaga’s archives. Sure to have mass appeal. [WWD]

As if the abuse he’s been getting in the blogosphere hasn’t been enough, Kanye West has now been invited to a formal roast. Whatever will they do for material? [Page Six]

You may have heard that Burberry is showing in London this season. More than once. Well, it’s a big deal, OK? So big that Christopher Bailey is documenting the whole thing on his cell phone. [The Moment]

Silence, haters. Victoria Beckham is a real designer. Jennifer Lopez is the latest very-famous-person to wear one of Posh’s dresses, and she wore it, drumroll please, to the White House. This means the likelihood of MObama wearing Beckham just got exponentially higher. [Daily Mail]—Alison Baenen

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Christian Lacroix’s new white knight is an Ajman sheikh. This acquisition has “couture inspiration” written all over it. [WWD]

Don’t ask for your size. Presumably the Rodarte designs on display at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum this January will be given the white-glove treatment, so don’t even think about trying something on. [WWD]

Lindsay Lohan’s invitation to Miley Cyrus to come to the “Emanuel Ungaro show for the new collection i’ve designed” has many fashion folk, tweeters and otherwise, shaking their heads in distress. [Lindsay Lohan Twitter]

With the addition of Odin to the West Village, Mike Albo decrees that there’s still hope yet for the once “magic” neighborhood, Sex and the City bus tours be damned. [NYT]

The famously controlling Mr. Armani is letting go just a little. On the mend after a bout of hepatitis this summer, the designer has overseen some upper-level management restructuring in the hopes of cutting down his workload. [WWD]—Alison Baenen

Photo: Marcio Madeira

Who made our Top Ten list for Spring? Designers with a point of view: Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga, who went back to his haute street roots. Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, who made fashion fun again, and sent out some fabulously crafty clothes in the process. Celine’s Phoebe Philo, for her fearless new brand of contemporary minimalism. And even though they didn’t quite crack our top ten, there are plenty more who deserve shout-outs this season: Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta’s Tomas Maier, the young Londoner Christopher Kane, and the even younger Londoner Mary Katrantzou. We could go on, but what would be the point of a Top Ten list if we did that? To see who made our cut, check out our editors’ picks.

[The Top Ten Collections, Style.com]

Photo: Luca Cannonieri/GoRunway.com

Gingham check at Christopher Kane. White eyelet, Swiss dot, and jagged swaths of suede at Altuzarra. Crochet at Alberta Ferretti, peasant dresses at YSL, clog heels and hay underfoot at Chanel. After several seasons of urban warrior looks, fashion is teasing out a more bucolic mood for Spring ‘10. Add the desert-inspired looks from brands such as Erin Wasson x RVCA and Apiece Apart and the Mad Max vibe at the Rodarte and Balmain shows, and it starts to seem as though we’ve got a full-blown rustic revolution on our hands. Australian label Lover has certainly picked up on the trend: Its new collection “The Harvest” takes its inspiration from Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven, conjuring the film’s turn-of-the-century farmstead setting in earth tones, peasant-inspired embroideries, and loose lace dresses. “The last couple seasons have definitely been a bit more ‘hard,’ ” notes Lover co-designer Susien Chong. “This time out, we felt like we could lean on our DNA and go back to a more innocent look.” Or, as Chong’s partner Nic Briand elaborates, a look of innocence lost. As is true of most of the pastoral-themed collections that have hit the runways and showrooms thus far, the Lover Spring ‘10 collection picks up on the grit required of a woman who’s working the land. “You look at the woman in Days of Heaven,” Briand says, “she’s not dainty. She’s layering on a jacket to go out in the fields when it’s cold.” Urban warrior vs. country tough: Place your bets—the fashion wrestling match has already begun.—Maya Singer

Photo: Courtesy of Lover