Photo: Valentine Fillol-Cordier

French women are the undisputed masters of elegant and effortless style. Always chic, never overdressed is an American fantasy that 27-year-old Valentine Fillol-Cordier’s nailed perfectly. The London-based stylist and model’s been around the fashion milieu for nearly ten years, a success she owes mainly to her unique style, which she described as “bourgeois homeless.” Born and bred in Paris, she started out in the modeling world at a young age and now works as a creative consultant with the renowned French designer Charles Anastase. She’s worked with the industry’s top talents like Terry Richardson and Juergen Teller and was recently chosen as an ambassador of the new social shopping website Motilo.com, which will allow users to shop with friends and create complete outfits, using features like videoconferencing. We chatted about her career, inspiration and projects.

Photo: Jason Mcdonald for WWD

With one week left to go until the CFDAs, designers are in campaign mode. There are four stories about Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in today’s WWD. One takes a look at the sisters over the years, another eyes their online strategy, yet another their business acumen and in the most personal, Bridget Foley walks the sisters through turning their love of fashion into a second career. The most telling quote in all of the stories comes from Dualstar’s president, Jill Collage. She says, “Ashley and Mary-Kate want to evolve every brand into a lifestyle brand.”

Until then, the coverage offers a few bits of new information:

Photo: Stella McCartney

This morning, WWD stops just short of confirming rumors of a Diane von Furstenberg for Gap Kids collection. An inside source says it’s just for girls, unlike Stella McCartney’s collection for the brand, and will be available for the spring/summer 2012 season. Like McCartney’s, DvF’s kid’s clothes are sure to attract more than a handful of women angling to fit into size large jackets, tees and even dresses. As brands realize the financial potential in children’s wear and continue to better their brands—from Crew Cuts to Fendi—we’ve noticed more and more people proudly mention their latest habit: shopping the kid’s department. For most women that means a little boys blazer or a graphic tee, but for others it means squeezing into proper clothes. With the launch of McCartney’s own line, and the impending arrival of Lanvin’s, have you started to bookmark the kid’s pages while shopping online? Or does the idea sound crazy?

Photo: Indie Cult Vintage

Q.

I live in my trusty cut-offs all summer and am excited to finally break them out this weekend! What types of vintage tops can I pair with them to look current and cool though, and not just like I’m in old daisy dukes?

Photo: Tim Fahlbush

Bad things happen to bad people in singer Natalia Kills‘ eye-for-an-eye universe. Her much-discussed ‘Wonderland‘ video has already stirred up European audiences with its unnerving scenes of stylized violence, which somehow startle more in 2011 than they might have ten years ago, when pop stars routinely (and expensively) scandalized MTV’s late night lineup. But the controversy certainly didn’t wound her popularity: Perfectionist, her multi-ranging debut, sold well, landing her in the Top 10 in Germany, where’s she already become everyone’s favorite pop mystery.

Whether Kills’ internationally-approved iconoclasm will translates as effectively on this side of the Pond remains to be seen, but with Rihanna singing about the scent of sex on daytime radio and Gaga giving birth onstage on SNL, the time seems right for the British-born Kills to test American pop’s outer limits. Her music itself—often called “dark pop”, described as “pop with an opinion” by Kills—is fittingly confrontational, aligning agitated and confessional lyricism with brooding, nocturnal production from some of pop’s most salient architects (Akon, Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, and Jeff Bhasker to name a few). This is murder on the dancefloor—but it’s also so much more. Having just completed a successful US tour with Swedish dynamo Robyn, she’s already provided Americans an attractive foreshadowing of what is to come. But ELLE digs deeper, catching up with Kills as she prepares to unleash Perfectionist on Americans this summer.

Photo: Troa

Seoul-based journalist Michael Reyes is profiling some of today’s most notable Korean designers. Here’s the third installment. Seasoned Korean designer Han Song’s inspiration for S/S 11 celebrates the organic beauty of insects, an unlikely yet delightfully enchanting specimen for heightening this designer’s intrigue. The skills he acquired of sketching and draping at Parsons in New York is reflected elegantly with special attention to the signature pieces in his collection: beetle wings, and voluminous silhouettes reminiscent of flying anthropods. Exaggerated volume noticeably presented with skirts this season, also calls to mind butterfly wings, dramatically contrasted with slim tops and bold, colorful leggings that mimics the physique of the prettiest bug. Sheerness and layering enhances the theme; full skirts in translucent fabrics such as woven silk organza for instance being worn over pants distinctively maintain the flow with shirts in metallic, iridescent materials referencing intriguing exoskeletons inspired by cicadas.

Photo: Fripesketchup

La Fripe, French for ‘second-hand’ is popular in Paris, yet not as developed as in other cities: New York, London, Berlin all have catchy concept boutiques offering vintage clothing – yet the French variety falls into two categories: either dépôt-ventes (where one sells and buys used luxury goods for a vaguely less outrageous price), or dirt-cheap, filthy items in smelly shops.

Photo: Getty Images

Here’s a fun piece of info to brighten up this Friday morning: Azzedine Alaïa, reclusive designer that he is, has announced that he will present a collection at the upcoming couture shows in Paris this July.

What we do know: There’s no date set yet (the shows run from July 4th – 8th), and he’s calling the collection “semi-couture.” What we want to know: We’re not exactly sure what the “semi” implies (Too few looks? Only eveningwear?) but we do think it’s safe to assume that the reclusive Tunisian-born designer — who typically only shows collections in small setting, and really only when he feels like it — might be able to conjure some big names to model the clothes. We’re guessing Naomi, who’ll be fresh off her role as maid of honor to Kate Moss on July 2nd, is practically a definite. But can he get Kate to postpone any honeymoon plans to strut his stuff? Stay tuned.

Courtesy of Max Mara

Celine Dion put a twist on menswear when she donned an over-sized, backwards Dior white tux to the Oscars in 1999. Some said she recovered it from the Titanic wreck, while others adored a peak of her seductively bare back. Then again, those who’ve adopted this style include sexy red carpet regulars like Angelina Jolie, Dita Von Teese, and Ashley Olsen. Whether you’re a fan or foe, the androgynous ensemble makes for a flirty conversation starter. Here’s what to consider if you’re going to try the tux trend on for size: