The big political news this week is not that Hillary Clinton might be our next secretary of State. It's that she unveiled a new hairstyle for the first time since her bid for the Democratic nomination. The Telegraph spoke to Laura and Barbara Bush's hairstylist, who says Hillary shouldn't have matched her headband to her hair, and that she looks like she's about to wash her face (we kind of agree — she could go straight from the gala to a table at Bliss for an extraction with that thing). The Telegraph also postures that she's channeling Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko with her yellow braided milkmaid-esque headband. "[I]t could be bad timing to imitate the distinctive look when Tymoshenko's political future is uncertain — elections are next month — and her reign is marred by a bitter rift with Ukrainian President Yushchenko," the paper adds. Oh, why make it so complicated? She's obviously just been watching a little too much Gossip Girl.

Stop press: Hillary Clinton has a new hairstyle [Telegraph]

Tom Ford has begun shooting his directorial debut, A Single Man, and photos from the set are coming out. And things are just as we expected: Tom looks stunning even when hard at work, and as though he knows a thing or two about a thing or two (because he does). Naturally he's chatting up the shirtless extras.

Tom Ford Is Not A Single Man, But That Doesn't Mean He Can't Have Fun with the Extras [Fashionologie]

If you need any further evidence that celebrity fashion lines will never die, here it is: Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere designed a clutch for Dooney & Bourke, which will debut in stores on December 1 for $295. The press release calls this is "the bag of her dreams." Hayden's dream bag is made of Italian calfskin and available in five colors, which makes it versatile. But we got distracted by the blinding, oversize 24-karat gold-plated lion's-head closure. It's certainly eye-catching. The actress was "inspired by her astrological sign, Leo." A solid attempt, Hayden, but we can't picture this becoming the "It" bag of the season.

Tonight the Prada Foundation's first nightclub, the Double Club, opens in London. Tagline: "A bar, restaurant and dance club where the Congo meets the west; A bar, restaurant and dance club where the west meets the Congo." German artist Carsten Höller conceived the space, which, the press release tells us (in bold as if we couldn't tell from the tagline) is divided into three spaces — a bar, restaurant, and (wait for it) dance club — each equally divided into Western and Congolese areas. The space also showcases artwork. More details:

In the dance club, the DJ plays alternately Congolese and Western music on a circular dance floor which slowly revolves at about one turn per hour. When the DJ is in the Western part of the room, ‘Western’ music is played, while as coming into the Congolese part it will switch into Congolese Rumba, Wenge or Ndombolo.

When we heard Prada was opening a nightclub, we did not expect it to look like a bar in Mexico that serves overpriced Cuervo shots to tourists with popped collars. But alas, look above. However, British Vogue went to a preview party of the club last night and calls it "a stroke of nightclubbing genius." We confess the rotating dance floor sounds like it would grow increasingly amusing after a few bevvies. Simpleminded fun for all!

It Takes Two [British Vogue]

MAKEUP
• M.A.C officially announced their collaboration with Sanrio's Hello Kitty, slated to hit stores on February 10. It will feature lipsticks, lip glosses, eye shadows, pigment, glitter, nail polish, and more in shades of pink, turquoise, lavender, and green. Meow. [WWD]

• L'Oréal will have its own store-within-a-store in Walgreens's new 1,500-square-foot flagship in Times Square. This ought to compete with the new Beauty 360 store-within-a-store at CVS drugstore, which offers luxury products. [Cosmetic News]

• Mollie Winerock (killer last name) of Lancôme said that eleven tubes of the Juicy Tube lip glosses are sold globally every minute. [BellaSugar]

FRAGRANCE
• The new Sexiest Man Alive issue of People magazine includes a scratch-n-sniff section where you can rub the hunks and smell the fragrances that make them feel sexiest. Taye Diggs, Chris Meloni, Michael Phelps, and Chace Crawford did this. Crawford's favorite scent is fresh-cut grass. [Folio]

SKIN
• Rihanna's new tribal tattoo stands for strength and love. She got it done in New Zealand and said it hurt. Well, yeah. [People]

Thakoon has stopped producing the $1,250 "reverse kimono" dress Michelle Obama wore to the Democratic National Convention. The dress is part of Thakoon's resort collection, which only began arriving in stores this month. Thakoon has made the "reverse kimono" style for more than one season, and it even sold out in 2007 after debuting at Bergdorf Goodman. After Michelle wore it to the DNC, shoppers swiftly dialed boutiques to reserve their own. Designer Thakoon Panichgul said he'd likely bring the style back but not every season.

Michelle purchased her dress in late July — just about a month after the resort-collection shows — from Chicago's Ikram boutique. The Wall Street Journal reports the store requested it early for a "special client." So one assumes Michelle picked the dress straight from the runway, just like she did with her Election Night Narciso Rodriguez frock. Does this mean she unwinds by clicking through runway slideshows at the end of a long, hard day? Maybe she really is just like us! Except for that whole part about calling stores, special-ordering things early, and actually being able to purchase them.

Michelle Obama’s Thakoon Dress [WSJ]

We've seen Anna Wintour in her best and worst of moods. When we bumped into her at LeBron James's party during Fashion Week she kindly fielded our questions for a whole two minutes, even peppering her replies with smiles, as if taking us in like an adorable lost puppy. But at the National Book Awards this week, she treated us like a malaria-carrying mosquito.

The Cut: There have been some rumors, and we were wondering if you had plans for retirement.
Anna Wintour: I'm so sorry, I think that's an extremely rude question. Leave me alone.
The Cut: May we ask what you would do if you did retire?
Anna Wintour: No. Just go away.
The Cut: Okay, thank you, enjoy your dinner.

But! She didn't deny it.

No good news has come out of Bill Blass since Peter Som's departure from its Couture division. Today we learn Bill Blass New York will liquidate. Bill Blass New York is a direct-sales apparel firm licensed by Bill Blass in 2006 (owned by investment firm Angelo Gordon & Co.) that made cheaper clothing than the Som-designed line. Industry sources speculate trunk-show consumers severely reined in spending after the stock market went to hell, forcing Bill Blass New York to liquidate.

But Bill Blass Couture — the line Peter Som designed until last month — isn't doing well either. NexCen owns the label and has been trying to sell it for months, but the process is taking longer than expected. WWD reports some retailers passed on the spring 2009 collection because they're nervous about what will happen with NexCen and the sale of the label. If the clothes aren't selling, will the business survive? And will we ever see Som's Blass line in stores? This is no way to head into the holidays!

Bill Blass New York Closing [WWD]

• Romeo Gigli is returning to fashion with the launch of a new clothing line, Ipse Idem. [WWD]

• 4.8 million viewers tuned in to the season finale of America's Next Top Model this week. [E!]

• Get psyched for the latest Target collaborators this spring: Felix Rey designers Sulaika Zarrouk and Lily Band will create a limited-edition handbag collection, and Trish Carroll will unveil a line of shoes. [WWD]

• In case this means anything at all to you, E! named Karolina Kurkova — the one with the missing belly button — the world's sexiest woman. [Yahoo News]

• Jeweler Stefano Canturi designed the gems and Ferragamo collaborated on the shoes for Nicole Kidman's character in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming film Australia. Canturi plans to open a boutique in Manhattan this February. [WWD]

Spotted: Katie Holmes with slicked back hair and suspiciously smoky eye makeup arriving at her New York apartment yesterday. According to commenters on the Fashion Spot, this decidedly non-mom styling is residue of the Miu Miu spring 2009 campaign shoot, which occurred yesterday. Eight unidentified models reportedly appear alongside Holmes in the ads. But who knows if they'll even be visible? It could just be Holmes flanked by sixteen noodle-y arms and legs. Such a possibility has commenters on the Fashion Spot in a huff. One calls the Holmes casting a "damn shame," while another writes, "Katie Holmes will never be classy let alone be suitable for such a great Miu Miu collection," and a third says, "My immediate response to Katie Holmes for Miu Miu is HORROR." From what we can see of her hair and makeup in this paparazzi picture, she doesn't look so bad. The Rihanna do is rather becoming on her. Maybe the ads will work after all?

S/S 09 Ad Campaigns [Fashion Spot via Fashionologie]