Name: Kathrin
Lives: Williamsburg (originally from Munich)
Occupation: Journalist, designer

Where are you working right now?
As a correspondent for German magazines. I'm also working on my own label, Kyline.

What kind of magazines do you work for?
Art, science, fashion, design, culture.

What cool fashion-related stuff have you worked on lately?
I interviewed Cory Kennedy, but I'm more interested in art than in fashion.

What did you think of her?
She was more mature than I expected. And a funny girl. But she is 17 years old.

Tell me about your outfit.
The pullover is from a designer friend from Paris, Ben Sherman. The shoes are from a fairytale. (FG: Where are they really from?) Shoe Market in Williamsburg. I was looking all spring for green pants, and I found them in the fall, on Spring Street. The label has a horrible name, it's called Rich and Skinny or something. The scarf is from Urban Outfitters.

Where do you like to shop?
I like to wear my friend's designs; Hui Hui, from Berlin. In summer, there's a great outdoor market on Berry Street. I love Urban Outfitters, the only problem is then everyone wears the same thing you do.

We love Chris, but seriously ... human hair? I'm a huge proponent of avant-garde fashion, usually meaning unconventional construction and inventive use of materials. And yes, human hair is an inventive use of a material. But it just seems like a cheap way of creating buzz and shock value. Anybody can tack strange animal skins or titillating slogans onto their clothing; it doesn't take skill, just the will to shock.

If there was a reason that only human hair would do—that it held a unique consistency or texture that was essential to the garment—then I would say fine. The fact is that any other type of animal hair would have done just fine.

That being said, his garments were actually attractive. I really liked the smoky goth look, but I think the "ick" factor did him in. Also, none of the pieces matched Rami's beautiful gray dress, which showcased his love of draping with a more contemporary look.

What else did we find out?
Chris has kooky friends with eccentric apartments!
Jillian is from Long Island and sometimes wears giant Christmas sweaters!
Christian lives in a tiny Manhattan apartment with no room for a bed!
Rami's mom was Miss Jordan!

Next week: The "Project Runway" finale. Start planning your party now.

I'm not usually a fan of big fashion chains: Abercrombie and American Eagle lose points for their over-the-top Americana kitsch, Gap and Banana Republic because they're often boring. The only nationwide chain's clothing I actually own (besides H&M, of course) is J. Crew. The brand does simple, sophisticated clothes quite well without ignoring or jumping too readily on the latest trends.

Enter Madewell. J. Crew's foray into a more youthful demographic has been a huge success. The Soho pop-up store was always packed, so expectations were high for the first permanent New York shop.

Well, it's finally here. The Soho space's two huge stories are filled with sunny pop music and 20-something shoppers. The clothing is younger, brighter, trendier and cheaper than J. Crew's. Pink skinny jeans, graphic tank tops and shrunken leather blazers all cater to the text-messaging, blog-reading generation.

Not that anything is too edgy: Madewell is on trend, not ahead of the trends. Plus, you better like color because Madewell doesn't much care for gray. Still, for young trendy girls with sunny dispositions, this spacious store should suit them just fine.

Get the 411 on the new Madewell store, plus take a look at all of New York's newest openings. 

Sexy street style during Paris Fashion Week. [Facehunter]

The new Balenciaga collection: Genius, or too far out there? [Style.com]

Pics from Loden Danger's collection for Uniqlo. [Racked]

Prada heels that will blow your mind. [My Fashion Life]

Fashion tip #1: Invest in an oversized blazer. [WhoWhatWearDaily]

Calling all hipsters! Designer collective opens in the Lower East Side. [Gen Art Pulse]

The only thing better than shoes are vintage shoes. Luckily, Girls Love Shoes, who operate a vintage shoe rental archive on Hester Street, are opening a proper boutique on Ludlow.

From the press release:

The new GLS Boutique is located at 29 Ludlow Street. The boutique spans 500 square feet and houses approximately 300 pairs of vintage shoes ranging from the early 1930's to the early 1990's from sizes 41/2 to 12. The shop carries shoes in assorted colors and a wide variety of fun styles that allure shoe connoisseurs to the collection. GLS carries vintage Yves Saint Laurent, Maud Frizon, and Charles Jourdan, to name a few designer favorites. You'll also find many offbeat 80’s labels such as Wild Pair, Candies and J. Renee sprinkled in.

If that wasn't enough, the sisters Zia and Dana Ziprin now sell shoes online, so you can buy those Ferragamo flats without ever leaving your apartment.

New Girls Love Shoes boutique

New Girls Love Shoes website

I generally hate awards shows. The Grammys have become increasingly irrelevant each year, and I've usually never seen any of the shows featured on the Emmys. The Oscars, however, I've been watching every year since I was a kid.

This year there were a couple cool moments: Marion Cotillard's surprised and enthusiastic acceptance speech for Best Actress, Markéta Irglová's encore acceptance speech after getting cut off the first time, and Diablo Cody's very sincere Best Original Screenplay acceptance speech.

The fashion at the Academy Awards was very subtle compared to years past: Black and red seemed to be the most popular colors of the night, perhaps a reference to hardships of the writers' strike.

I thought Anne Hathaway (left) had a beautiful dress, but perhaps a bit too old-fashioned for such a young star. Javier Bardem (right) won my vote for most dapper actor with his fashion-forward but not too flashy suit.

A lot of people didn't like Tilda Swinton's (left) look, but I thought it fit her eccentric personality perfectly. She's an offbeat, talented actress, so anything but a unique outfit--in this case a shimmery, amorphous black dress--would be a disappointment. My favorite dress belonged to the charming French actress Marion Cotillard (right), who played Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose." The white, scaly Jean-Paul Gaultier gown fit her perfectly and stood out from the crowd without being too loud or blatantly revealing.

If you're looking for a little Hollywood glamor yourself, check out our "Luxury Stores" and "Socialite's Guide" features.

(All photos courtesy of Style.com.)

Two announcements in one! First, Kidrobot is opening a pop-up store in Soho from Feb 29th to April 27th. If you are all about limited-edition toys, figurines, art books and bright streetwear, this is your Mecca. If that wasn't enough, from Feb 9th to March 9th the store is having a warehouse sale, with select toys and apparel discounted 50 percent off. Prepare to be the coolest kid on the block.

I love Oak's Williamsburg location, so I was pretty excited when I heard they were opening a Manhattan store. The new store, located on Bond Street between Lafayette and Bowery, is much bigger than the 'Burg and Park Slope (Oak Shoes) locations. Also, it has a crazy black sculpture that looks like it's from outer space, but really it just holds shoes and accessories.

Basically, if you liked the clothes in the Williamsburg store, you'll like the clothes here. Dark, chic men's and women's collections with innovative construction from labels like Daryl K, Opening Ceremony, Comme des Garcons, Nudie, Henrik Vibskov, the store's house label and much more. It's all very avant-garde hipster, but most of it is also very wearable, so those not in the fashion-forward downtown set can still find something they'll like.

Get all the details on the new Oak store, plus check out other "New and Notable" shops.

Not only does boxing help you stay in shape, it's also a great way to keep Clubber Lang at bay. Don't be a fool; check out the new Everlast Shop this Saturday and get free boxing tips from NYC trainer Buddy McGirt, autographs from IBF (International Boxing Federation) champ Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi and, most importantly, free gift bags. Check out all the details on the Everlast Shop at Paragon Sports Grand Opening.

No, I haven't become an egomaniacal dictator; I've become an egomaniacal tourist! I bought these stamps at the United Nations, where, besides attempting to prevent global violence, disease and hunger, they take pictures of tourists and put them on stamps that are only good at the United Nations. The dude at the counter told me that the stamps are most popular with middle-aged Chinese tourists, but that doesn't mean your mom won't enjoy a postcard with a [Your Name Here] stamp mailed from New York City. What other tchotchkes would your out-of-town guests enjoy?

How about a cool memo pad made from old Metrocards, or a baseball with a subway map printed on it? Whether you are a tourist or just hosting one, check out our "Souvenir Hunter: NYC's 5 Top Tchotckes" feature.