Actress Penelope Cruz has made her directorial debut with a five-minute commercial for Agent Provocateur, promoting L'Agent, the lingerie line she designed with her sister Monica, an equal opportunity international smoke show.

• The Obamas headed over to London today on their first trip overseas since Barack took office and the big topic of discussion is Michelle's wardrobe, of course: She was wearing Thakoon as she boarded the plane, but she emerged in a Jason Wu dress when she got off. But tomorrow she meets the Queen, so expect things to really get crazy. [NYM, SW, Style.com]
• Kate Moss will cut the ribbon at the Topshop opening on Thursday, naturally. [WWD]
• Tips on surviving the big opening from your pals across the pond. [Guardian]
• Richard Chai may be the new creative director at Bill Blass. [FWD]
• Agent Provocateur just launched its new swimwear collection. [Pipeline]

• The 2009 CFDA Award nominees were announced this evening. [WWD]
• Following months of speculation, it's official: Olivier Theyskens (left) has parted ways with the house of Nina Ricci. [WWD]
• Depressed? "In times of trouble, pink is the shopper's comfort color." [NYT]
• Katie Holmes is starting up a kids clothing line, it seems. [Racked]
• Is Marc Jacobs getting married later this year? Possibly! [FWD]
• The times they are a-changin': Beyoncé appears on the new cover of Vogue, which means the mag has featured black women two issues in a row. [NYM]
• Karen Elson stars in Agent Provocateur's new spring campaign. [Pipeline]
• LiLo's spray-on tanner actually works, you may be surprised to hear. [NYDN]
• A look inside the new Armani flagship on Fifth Ave. [Racked]
• Claudia Schiffer has such a huge clothing collection, she converted a climate-controlled helicopter hanger into a giant closet. Naturally. [Daily Mail]

• Despite the rumors in recent weeks, Olivier Theyskens says he's staying at Nina Ricci. [WWD]
• Alexander Wang's new mentor is Diane von Furstenberg. [Vogue UK]
• More designers are looking to hold their Fashion Week shows off-site to save cash. [WWD]
• A gallery of celeb hairdos and don'ts. [Guardian]
• Pixie Geldof is following in her big sister's footsteps: She'll be modeling for Agent Provocateur. [Fashionista]
• Yet another depressing article about the state of retail. [NYT]
• Here's a tragic byproduct of the tough economic times in which we now find ourselves: It's getting harder to get approved for boob-job loans! [NYM]

♦ Rachel Zoe is "a pox on humanity—exploiting an aesthetic of dissipation, invading our collective consciousness and spraying it with dummy dust," says Ginia Bellafante in the Times, who clearly needs to get in touch with her feelings more. [NYT]
♦ So what are luxury brands supposed to do now that their rich customers are distinctly fewer in number? Market themselves like religions, according to brand strategist Lucian James. [JC Report]
♦ The CEO and president of Gucci, Mark Lee, is stepping down, and will be replaced by Bottega Veneta's Patrizio di Marco. [WWD]

Yet another actress is sounding off on how urgently they needed to slim down after giving birth, and unlike sourpuss Jessica Alba or wine-guzzling Gwyneth Paltrow, this is a chick we actually like. Beginning the rounds of press for her role as Katie Holmes’ Replacement in the highly anticipated, potentially Oscar-adorned Dark Knight, Maggie Gyllenhaal tells USA Today how she speedily dropped all her baby weight before stripping down for some racy Agent Provocateur lingerie ads: