Ann Taylor (sp?) Akimbo

Have you ever found yourself running down Broadway, late for a design consultancy meeting at J. Crew, when suddenly a glimpse of the Ann Taylor window on 9th street makes you trip over your Alexander Wang Fall 2010 black leather dominatrix heel? It happened to us AnA girls just today because of the dumpy-lady's delicious new advertising campaign: young, sunny and most deliciously thigh-high.

Part-time Pink girl and full-time dress size 6 Behati, leaning, sans bold shouldered blazer in sight.

You better work that wall, girl.

Indian model Lakshmi Menon knocks down all sorts of white, boring, Eastern European barriers by landing this big old advertising job. Who was the last dot to carry this sort of photo? Freida Pinto? Any old who, Lakshmi will be the first time ANY Indian will be seen in malls across America. And for that we say: thank you.

Out of My Face Akimbo // Wilting Whities

How did model diversity fare on the New York runways this season? About as well as an Ugg after a slushy snowfall: not at all, and ugly.

The Calvin Klein show dazzled us AnA girls -- we sat front row, two seats from that pre-teen blogging whore and sadly out of clawing range-- with tons of black and muted tones on cool shoulders but no Lyndsey Scott, the New Jersey native who stomped out this Spring as the first black Calvin exclusive. With Shena Moulton in the lineup and 90s supermodels Stella Tenant, Kristen McMenamy and Kristy Hume as muse, we forgive Francisco for his lack of diversity!

Miss Moulton went ponytail-t0-ponytail with 90s supes!

The Row designers dazzled the 176 super-VIP invitees -- Ms. Streisand gave a pity wave to Tila Tequila, shunned outside the venue before she was stoned to death by Grace Coddington -- with an epically minimalistic collection in mostly black that was pieced together by an army of tiny goblin hands.

The clothes were about the only thing black in that room, besides of course the olives floating in Ms. Ross's early morning martini. Pump up the casting! If we see one more wide Eastern European face sneering down a runway, we'll smash Magdalena's.

Kudos to DVF for picking all mannequin types for her cute, flouncy, expectedly wearable presentation. The casting included:

...boring white girls...

...black girls (hey girl hey!)...

...asians...

...blasians...

...blatinasians...

...dots...

...supermodels...

...new girls (who dat?)...

...too many Canadians...

...VS Angels...

...bones...

...fatties...

...perfection caught in a ground-tilted stare...

...and of course Ms. Ross herself, in her singular runway appearance. She knocked Naomi right off the catwalk! Work! Maybe they'll let more ethnics in at Lincoln Center!

Scooped Akimbo!

LAKSHMI AND DESIGNER/MET GALA DATE RACHEL ROY

We told you FIRST about Lakshmi Menon's unfair treatment by the fashion world, and now Lakshmi has run to the press herself! Glad she is combining her dizzying amount of work with the occasional smack in the faces of the jerks who treat her unfairly. Square that jaw and WORK!

American Vogue Akimbo // Lakshmi on Vacation!

With all the flurried discussion of the MET gala and models, AnA wishes to turn to a recurring topic here at the Akimbo loft: racism and tokenism as seen in American Vogue. This time around, let's consider the Faces of the Moment issue and the location story in Goa with model Lakshmi Menon, current runway star and Ricardo Tisci muse chez-Givenchy. Strangely titled "India Are We," the editorial has Lakshmi smiling and dancing in practical summer ensembles among India's impoverished; it should be called "India Is She."

The story lacks any clothes by Indian designers in favor of Anna's go-to European and American minions. So much for covering India's burgeoning fashion industry. Lakshmi has appeared one other time in American Vogue -- in a story about "new" models - although Lakshmi is in her late 20s and came West after a long career in India.

Landing a one-girl story is huge but did Anna pick Lakshmi because of her beauty and status or because Lakshmi is the only Indian model on her radar? Why not send a white girl to India? Why not book Lakshmi for a studio story stateside? AnA can report that various recent beauty and fashion shoots for Vogue -- including a MET-themed story shot by Arthur Elgort -- do not include Lakshmi, although she did attend the Ball. Hopefully Anna will keep using the girl. Until then let's enjoy her off-kilter face, masculine shoulders and large jaw in other ways!

New Italia // Velvet

Velvet is a great magazine. And isn't that Lakshmi girl the edgiest thing around? Take a look at this cool new spread, it's all very nouveau American Vogue:

I still love a sack, and lingerie best when it's clinging to the bone of Akimbo-favorite, the 6'1" Romina Lanaro.

There are enough hunches and mouths left agape and Colette Pechekhonovas to keep us occupied for hours!

And an obi cinched over a perforated Fendi? Divine!