Takako Kitahara Bikini

Wek received the "Spirit of a Woman" award for her work as a model and humanitarian, while Badgley and Mischka were named "Designer of the Year."

The gala event, held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, raised money for Fashion Delivers, a charity formed to help children and families living in poverty or who have been the victims of natural disasters and K.I.D.S., which distributes new donated merchandise for children and youth to more than 1,000 non-profit agencies. Forty percent of the evening's net proceeds were donated to these two causes.

The AAFA also honored VF Corporation for "Excellence in Lifestyle Branding" and department store chain Belk, Inc. as "Retailer of the Year." Marvin Traub of Marvin Traub Associates, a retail consultant and former CEO of Bloomingdales received the "Lifetime Achievement" award.

Shouhata Mie Bikini

He will replace Bruno Saelzer, who quit as managing board chief of Hugo Boss in February amid differences of opinion with Permira, the British investment fund that gained control of 80 percent of the group in mid-2007.

Senior staff have accused Permira of pillaging the company by pressing managers to pay high dividends to make a rapid return on its investment.

The tension has also triggered the resignation of the head of the Hugo Boss supervisory board, Guiseppe Vita, who praised the appointment of Lahrs.

"With his international experience in leading brands of the high-end and luxury sector of the fashion industry and his expertise in distribution, he fills all the management conditions to bring to Hugo Boss (...) a new stage of development," Vita said.

Lahrs, of German origin, has worked for French luxury products group LVMH for 12 years.

Kanai Bikini Girl

If possible, Lahrs would begin on August 1, 2008, it added.

"My goal is to bring more of an international presence to the brand, in the large and growing markets of Asia and America," Lahrs, head of Christian Dior Couture since the end of 2003, said in the statement.

He will replace Bruno Saelzer, who quit as managing board chief of Hugo Boss in February amid differences of opinion with Permira, the British investment fund that gained control of 80 percent of the group in mid-2007.

Senior staff have accused Permira of pillaging the company by pressing managers to pay high dividends to make a rapid return on its investment.

Miki Munemasa Bikini

Rei Kikukawa Bikini

Both prisoners and former San Vittore inmates work for the Cooperative Alice in Milan, and have already made costumes for theatre and television as well as clothes for small shops.

They already sell a line of T-shirts under the "Jail Cats" brand with a motif of cats or prison bars on the cooperative's website. Wednesday's show was a preview to the "Sartoria SanVittore" line they will launch in the Autumn.

"For them, it is a beautiful moment," Alessandro Brevi, of the Cooperative Alice said, adding that the show, the cooperative's fifth, was a call for distribution. "Initially we start with the Web site, then -- who knows -- maybe Paris."

The cooperative has operated for some 16 years in Milan's jails and the scheme aims to help women acquire skills for life outside prison. It takes former inmates to work at its office, making it easier for them to find a job once out of jail.