Melissa Pelz, Right Photo: Ligne de Soie

Melissa Pelz is a loungewear designer by day, Kate Middleton “lookalike” by night and has decided to combine the two with a “Royal Bridal Collection” inspired by…the fact that she looks like Kate Middleton. Seriously. After moving to London, the California native, who we guess kind of looks like Kate (especially in the eyebrows), was told of her striking resemblance to the future princess by “countless friends and strangers,” reads a press release. Eventually, she was put in touch with Susan Scott’s agency Lookalikes, which, based on their website, honestly looks like a place where anyone with a digital camera and the vaguest resemblance to a celebrity can get a spot (there are currently 19 Kate Middletons). Apparently, despite not even being British, she has done some “royal appearances,” “showed off royal memorabilia” and “appeared in foreign press.”

Photo: Ligne de Soie

It’s amazing she has time to dedicate to her real passion—a silk lougewear company called Ligne de Soie, for which she has created a limited edition Ligne de Soie Royal Bridal Collection, which includes the Royal Sapphire Silk Nightdress ($150) and Royal Silk Dressing Gown ($279), or the “Royal Robe.” In the press release, Pelz sort of manages to make a connection between her Kate Middleton resemblance and the loungewear line, with a slightly creepy explanation: “Because of what I do in my daily life as a loungewear designer, I’m mostly interested in what she [Kate] wears out of the public eye, while lounging around in the privacy of her home. I always think it must be something really luxurious—something to make her not just look like, but truly feel like a princess.“ Do you think Kate Middleton-branded loungewear has a chance of taking off? Normally, we would guess not but given the level of royal wedding obsession that seems to have taken over the world, and the existence of even weirder things like the royal wedding refrigerator, you never know.

Photo: Hisui

TOKYO—Although Japan Fashion Week, scheduled to run at the end of March, was officially canceled due to the earthquake and ensuing disaster, it didn’t stop many featured designers from sharing their fall ’11 collections. Over the past month, many labels have either rescheduled their runway shows, shown at a scaled down presentation, or quickly shot and released lookbook images. It’s not exactly business as usual in Tokyo, but it’s clear that designers are determined to keep going, despite the heartbreaking circumstances. And if they’re still working, it means that the trends that infiltrate fashion in Japan will still influence what people around the world will be wearing six months, a year, or even two years from now.

So in a nod to Japan’s hard-working designers, here’s a round-up of the five big trends spotted in the fall ’11 collections. Let’s hope that the country’s recovery comes just as quickly as the imminent influx of overalls and blanket coats.

Photo: Getty

Chanel’s annual Tribeca film festival dinner’s become as much a part of the festival as the movies. Last night, they held it at Odeon and invited a guest list spanning R.J. Cutler to Jeff Koons with classics like Chloe Sevigny, Zoe Kravitz and Lauren Hutton mixed in. A glowing and seemingly ageless Lauren Hutton wore a shiny red Chanel blazer with a black skirt and a brown woven backpack—a casual outfit for such a soireè, but she told us that she “adores fashion.”  Her first piece of Chanel was given to her, “for free believe it or not! I was shooting for a magazine in Europe when I first started modeling and I got to keep it, I’ll never forget it. It was the most beautiful little jacket I’d ever seen.” And aside from briefly conversing about her love of fashion, film and the city of New York, we of course had to veer toward the subject of her beauty regimen to which she charmingly responded that the real secret behind a flawless and timeless look is, “a good man.”

Photo: Courtesy of Just Jared

This morning Lea Michele was hamming it up on the set of Glee in Times Square. We love how she takes a normally winter appropriate look (tights, hat, coat…) and with fun brights makes it feel totally springy and fresh. Plus the clashing color combos, stripes, and tights with open-toed sandals are right on trend for 2011! Try these pieces for a similar style:

Jay-Z & Beyonce in Paris this week. Photo: Getty Images

Beyoncé’s in Paris right now with Jay-Z. She’s not on her way to the royal wedding—this morning’s news swore she and Jay we’re headlining Will and Kate’s after party. A source told the Daily Star that the prince, who’s also invited Kanye West to the actual ceremony, was psyched to dance to “Crazy In Love” post-dinner. Unfortunately, it’s not true. (Though if you were a prince and could pick anyone to perform at your wedding wouldn’t Jay and Beyoncé be at the absolute top of your list?)  A rep for the pop star says she’ll be in New York for a shoot this weekend instead of in London. Beyoncé is, however, leading the way for fall’s number one trend—polka dots on polka dots. She may be the only one who can make this Christmas-colored Marc Jacobs look appropriate for spring. She paired it with a black croc bag, no makeup and casual hair up top—a perfect balance.

Photo: J.Crew

Tony Duquette used to design costumes for MGM musicals before he started his own design firm. Eventually, he worked on fine jewelry for Tom Ford when Ford was at Gucci, but in between he decided he really, really liked leopard print. In the 50s he used it on everything—pillows, walls, clothes and furniture—and it became a sort of signature. So when J.Crew issued this season’s leopard print cardigan (there’s always a slight variation on the same thing) they named it for the late Duquette. Well Duquette Inc. still exists. It’s run by the designer’s business partner, Hutton Wilkinson, and Wilkinson’s just sued J.Crew for using its trademark without permission. They’re going after injunctive relief, damages and attorneys’ fees—J.Crew’s yet to comment. J.Crew was probably trying to pay tribute to the late designer, like naming a ballet flat the Audrey, but their tribute’s about to land them in court. Is this nuts? Or do you think Duquette Inc. stands a chance?

Lysney Wixson in her Jason Wu prom dress.

If you were a 17-year-old supermodel, what would you wear to prom? It’s hard to remember that most of the models you see on the catwalk really are that age—though easier since now, thanks to Twitter, they’ve taken to broadcasting their prom pictures to the world. Last year it was Karlie Kloss, who wore a silver Oscar de la Renta. This time around it’s Lindsey Wixson via Wichita, Kansas. The blonde, who’s known for her cartoon-like lips and the miniature gap between her teeth, donned a cobalt blue Jason Wu dress with white slingback sandals. Wu made it just for her, but it wouldn’t look out of place on his spring catwalk. If you’re going to wear a custom-made designer dress to prom, Wu’s a pretty good choice. But who would you pick? And how long until a model chooses something edgy a la Alex Wang or Altuzarra? Or more importantly, who’ll Tweet it first?

Photo: Retna

It’s not exactly a trade secret that success in the music industry is one part talent, many parts stage presence. To that eye-catching effect, our favorite performers have turned transformation into an art, keeping their fans guessing about their next single, but also about what they’ll wear next. While some take this from the envelope-pushing to the shocking (with Lady Gaga and her motorcycle-woman Born This Way cover in a category all of their own), all of these artists have challenged our senses in more ways than one.

Photo: Getty Images

Another weekend, another rumor! The latest news from the UK regarding Kate Middleton‘s wedding dress centers around Sophie Cranston, Libélula’s designer. Cranston, who’s arguably the least known of all the designers now floating in the rumor pool, has worked at both Alexander McQueen and Temperley. She won the Designer of the Year Award at London’s Graduate Fashion Week in 1999 and eventually took her label’s name from the Spanish word for dragonfly. Though she’s relatively unknown in the States, her designs have popped up on Emma Watson and Jerry Hall—we couldn’t really imagine two different celebs—Middleton wore a black Libélula coat to a friend’s wedding earlier this year. The news was broken by Yvonne Yorke, the Huffington Post’s Royal Correspondent who says she’s known about Cranston for four months and predicts “another Jason Wu moment.” We still think the three-dress rumor rings true—but the anonymity of Cranston would balance out Sarah Burton and Bruce Oldfield quite well.