• More on the clothes and behind-the-scenes drama at Milan Fashion Week. [IHT, Reuters, Telegraph]
• Pop magazine has a new editor: Dasha Zhukova (left), Russian fashion/art "It" girl and girlfriend of billionaire oligarch Roman Abramovich. The new editorial board includes the likes of Julia Restoin Roitfeld and Daphne Guinness. [Guardian]
• Oscar dress knockoffs are headed your way, naturally. [NYP]
• Pamela Anderson, who stars in Vivienne Westwood's new ad campaign, will walk the catwalk for her in Paris next week. [Vogue UK]
• McQueen for Target doesn't appear to be selling all that well. [Racked]
• The woman believed to be the highest-grossing saleswoman in Saks' history is now on trial and is facing up to 25 years in prison. [NYT]
• Anna Wintour smiled in Milan today. Really. [FWD]

The cruel blows of the recession have made a certain elite group even more elite: There are now only 49 Russian billionaires, half as many as there were a year ago, according to the annual ranking of Russia's wealthiest published today by Finans magazine. Last year's number one, aluminium magnate Oleg Deripaska, tumbled to number eight after losing $35 billion, and was replaced in the top spot by Mikhail Prokhorov, the nickel mogul (and Snob magazine backer), who is reportedly worth $14.1 billion. Roman Abramovich, despite seeing $9 billion disappear in the past year, still comes in at number two with an estimated net worth of $13.9 billion. He was also voted Russia's most interesting billionaire, an honor he clearly owes to his fiancée, everyone's favorite art patron Dasha Zhukova.

At the annual Sidaction AIDS benefit dinner in Paris last night, Carla Bruni, in purple strapless satin Yves Saint Laurent, did what she does best: reveled in the spotlight and upstaged every other dolled-up female—Mischa Barton, Vanessa Paradis, Diane Kruger, Dita von Teese, Milla Jovovich, Laeticia Casta, Dasha Zhukova, Virginie Ledoyen—in the room.

The financial crisis isn't just spoiling Dasha Zhukova's dreams of a lavish wedding. The girlfriend of billionaire Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich now has to contend with the fact that she may not be able to sunbathe aboard the world's largest yacht next summer. Abramovich is thinking about backing out of a deal to buy a $355 million boat named the Eclipse, which, if it's ever finished, would be the largest yacht ever constructed. (Abramovich had planned to equip the 530-foot vessel with three helipads and its own submarine.) One possible contingency plan? Drop Roman and get together with Ron Perelman. He's still going ahead with plans to build a giant, new boat and it will be finished this spring, just in time for the summer season. [Luxist]

♦ Either Mariah Carey is pregnant or she's determined to do whatever it takes to stay in the spotlight. The diva was spotted looking "ebullient" on her way out of an OB/GYN's office in LA, where she was greeted by a cheering entourage and seen clutching "what looked like a sonogram." [P6, Mirror]
♦ Kate Moss skipped champagne and wore a loose dress to a Vogue event in China, which means she must be pregnant, too. [The Sun]
♦ In an upcoming issue of O, Oprah says she's "fallen off the wagon" and now weighs 200 lbs. But she blames it on her "out-of-balance thyroid," which gave her "a fear of working out." [AP]
♦ Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich watching soccer at Nevada Smith's in the East Village with girlfriend Dasha Zhukova? We can hardly believe it. [P6]
♦ Steve Schwarzman insisting on remaining centerstage at yesterday's Vanity Fair photo shoot? That sounds likely. [P6]

Art Basel Miami, the most talked-about art event of the year, is in full swing and all the usual suspects have turned up. At a party on Tuesday night hosted by the Times' T magazine and hotelier Andre Balazs, faithful scenesters like Calvin Klein, Takashi Murakami, Naomi Campbell, Rachel Zoe, Yvonne Force Villareal, Dasha Zhukova, and Ingrid Sischy all put in appearances. So how is it all going? It sort of depends who you ask! Judging by the breathless coverage on sites like Fashion Week Daily, all seems to be fine and well. It's "bigger than any recession-concerned naysayers could have predicted," reports Adam P. Schneider in a piece titled "The Best of Times." Over at Dasha's table, for example, the "important topic" on everyone's lips wasn't the recession; it was the "internet craze surrounding Shiba Inu puppies." Of course it was! Unfortunately, that cheerfulness escaped New York's Alexandra Peers, who reports that the fair itself had about half as many people as last year, and that everyone is still waiting for the gazillionaire buyers—like, say, Dasha's boyfriend, Roman Abramovich—to show their faces."Everyone is asking, where are the Russians?" Yes, Miami is very much empty at the moment, as we confirmed when we made a few phone calls this afternoon.

♦ Present at Bette Midler's Hulaween benefit gala for the New York Restoration project: Suze Orman (dressed as big pile of money, left), André Leon Talley, Gloria Estefan, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Karan, Kathy Griffin, Michael Kors, Pink, Jimmy Buffett, John McEnroe and Patty Smyth, Ray Kelly, and Cindy Adams. [PMc, Wireimage, NYO]

♦ Last night Karl Lagerfeld was in town to celebrate the Chanel Mobile Art exhibition with a cocktail party in Central Park. Undeterred by the chilly weather and/or enticed by the chance to be photographed in Chanel: Kate Bosworth and James Rousseau, Glenda Bailey, Linda Wells, Agyness Deyn and Albert Hammond Jr., Zac Posen, Dasha Zhukova, Peter Davis, Helena Christensen, Terry Richardson, Eve, Ann Dexter-Jones, Boykin Curry and Celerie Kemble, Cory Kennedy, Victoria and S.I. Newhouse, Terry Richardson, Julie Macklowe, Debbie Bancroft, Katie Lee Joel, Tiffany Dubin, Kim Raver, Christopher and Amanda Cutter Brooks, Fabiola Beracasa, Amy Astley, Stefano Tonchi, Sarah Jessica Parker, Carine Roitfeld, Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Kate Schelter, Ferebee Bishop Taube, Luigi Tadini, Eleanor Ylvisaker, Jackie Astier, Fran Lebowitz, Justine and Jeff Koons, Genevieve Jones, David Hershkovits, Kate Schelter, Sophie Auster, and Vidal Sassoon. [The Daily, PMc, GoaG]

Although the fortunes of Russian oligarchs have shrunk a tad in the past few weeks— the richest of them all, scandal-hit Oleg Deripaska, may be forced to give up a stake in his mining empire if he doesn't come up with $2 billion in the next few days—that's no reason to stop lavishing attention on the new breed of Russian it-girls or "tusovshchitsa." The London Times brings us up to speed on the women who have taken full advantage of their country's sudden wealth to step into the limelight, and who are unlikely to want to relinquish it just because there are slightly fewer billions floating around.

Sales are, no surprise, slow at the Frieze art fair in London, where all the art world people—Charles Saatchi, Dasha Zhukova, Dakis Joannou, Gavin Brown, Thelma Golden—have been circulating among celebrities—Gwyneth Paltrow, Sienna Miller, Sofia Coppola, Kate Bosworth, Emma Watson—for whom being seen at an art event is a nice way of distancing themselves from the contents of In Touch. "I come to Frieze every year," Gwyneth told reporters. "It's something I really look forward to." (Of course, she didn't actually buy anything, deciding instead to pose for the cameras and talk about the election.)

Art Review has issued its "Power 100" list of the industry's most influential figures, and manages to make it semi-relevant in these troubled economic times: Erstwhile major art sponsors UBS and Deutsche Bank are conspicuous in their absence, and the list's compilers say that the murky economic climate has made established artists more desirable to big-name collectors. As a result, Damien Hirst is number one—the only other artist in the top ten, Jasper Johns, is number nine—followed by Larry Gagosian and the MOMA's new associate director Kathy Halbreich.

You'd think that a Russian billionaire could do pretty much whatever he wants regardless of the current state of economy, right? Not so much, says Roman Abramovich, who has postponed his wedding to Dasha Zhukova—patron of arts and soul of discretion—because of the financial crisis. The 41-year-old Russian mogul, who came in at No. 15 on Forbes' list of the world's richest earlier this year, was due to tie the knot with 26-year-old Dasha this month. Now he's reportedly told her that, "Now is not the time to party." Not that we would ever suggest that Roman's decision was based on anything other than a well-developed sense of restraint and a need to keep a close eye on his global business interests, but he's provided a handy excuse for much poorer commitment-phobes!

♦ Charlotte Ronson continues with her role as the most respectable (and least annoying) member of Ronson family: She's signed a deal with J.C. Penney to design "a full contemporary sportswear collection" called I ♥ Ronson. [WWD]
♦ Did you sense that the fashion world had turned on its axis? That's because Richie Rich unveiled his first solo collection this past weekend in Miami Beach. [Miami New Times via Paper]
♦ Narciso Rodriguez is parting company with Liz Claiborne after an 18-month partnership; the designer will now have independent ownership of his brand. [WWD]
♦ Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen launched their Elizabeth and James line in London last night with the help of Henry Holland, Dasha Zhukova and Pixie Geldof. [FabSugar]

♦ Designer/actress/Parisian it-girl Lou Doillon talks to WWD about her more intellectual projects, like her stage debut tonight in Samuel Beckett's The Image at the Alliance Française. [WWD]
♦ Can this week get any more catastrophic? Top Shop's opening is now pushed back till March. [WWD]
♦ Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's label The Row is going to start doing men's clothes. [WWD]
♦ We take it all back: Naomi Campbell did her bit for charity last night with her London Fashion For Relief show, which raised money for The White Ribbon Alliance fund to promote safe childbirth. [Marie Claire UK]

The art world was all aflutter last night when its newest patron Dasha Zhukova, the comely and unloquacious consort of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, opened the Garage, her Moscow exhibition space in an 8,500-square-foot former bus shelter just outside the city center. Ever discreet, she wouldn't reveal how much it had cost to bring the gallery to life, although, reports Reuters: "When asked if he had sponsored Garage, Abramovich broadly smiled, smoothed out his blue suit, but did not answer." We're going to take that as a yes! Meanwhile, a Guardian journalist ever so tentatively says to Zhukova: "Could I be so bold, perhaps, as to ask if Mr. Abramovich was supportive of your idea?" To which her cool (but podcasted!) response is "I don't comment about Mr. Abramovich." Oh, Dasha, such gallant protectiveness only makes us more curious!

Everyone's favorite trophy girlfriend Dasha Zhukova continues to tantalize the media with her willingness to talk about her new Moscow art gallery, the Garage, but her refusal to talk about boyfriend Roman Abramovich. During an email interview with a Bloomberg reporter, the London-based 27-year-old declines to comment on her relationship with the Russian billionaire and is elusive even on the subject of art, although she does perk up when asked if the Garage will sell paintings: "Absolutely no selling of art at all!"

Russians are "not afraid" to call themselves snobs, says the spokewoman for a new magazine called, yes, Snob. Slated to debut next month and backed by playboy oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov (left), it's aimed at well-to-do, educated Russians, including those in New York, London and Paris, who, we're guessing, will be thrilled by the prospect of getting their fix of Dasha Zhukova news in actual Russian. [Independent]

Dasha Zhukova is 27, beautiful, and "like, really bad at remembering names" of artists. She's opening the gallery Garage Center for Contemporary Culture in Moscow, with the help of her oil-tycoon/Putin crony boyfriend Roman Abramovich's money. (Remember, he's the one who set record art-auction prices last spring for buying a Lucian Freud and a Francis Bacon for $86 and $33 million.) The WSJ ends their profile on her with this puzzling declaration: "It is easy, of course, to see Ms. Zhukova as just another oligarch princess frittering away millions in her quest for social standing and substance. But at least she's doing something honorable with her money–helping to boost the profile of contemporary art and culture in Russia. It sure beats buying handbags." I guess?Well, somebody needs to prop up the American art-auction market. Plus, Russia does not have very many vanity-project contemporary art galleries. Everyone's profiling Zhukova this month, trying to figure out if she's actually some kind of idiot art-savant or just a "wealthy diletantte" who "can't name a single artist she likes," as the Guardian put it. We'll save you the time of reading the flurry of profiles and go with that. "I didn't study art history and don't remember names of artists," she told the NYT. Come on, hon, you gotta give us more to work with than that.

Dasha Zhukova is the much talked-about 27-year-old girlfriend of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, darling of the global jet-set, and rising star on the fashion (Kova & T) and art scenes. The New York Times took a look at the California-raised heiress and former homeopathy student a couple of weeks ago. This week the U.K.'s Guardian offered up an even more in-depth profile of the woman responsible for one of the splashiest art events in recent memory, the "soft opening" of her Garage Center of Contemporary Culture in Moscow in June, when Amy Winehouse performed (drunk) for a crowd including notable New Yorkers such as Jeff Koons, Ron Lauder, Steve Cohen, and Larry Gagosian.