CUBA'S LONDON ADVENTURE: "I thought London would be stuffy, but I love it. It has great energy," gushed Cuba Gooding Jr., who embarked on a multiple-party marathon in the British capital Monday night. The highlight was the Burberry-sponsored launch of "Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008" at the National Portrait Gallery, where guests included Georgina Chapman, Christopher Bailey, Emma Watson, Annie Lennox, Tracey Emin, Diane von Furstenberg, Lily Allen, Mario Testino, Bryan Ferry, Otis Ferry, Amy Sacco, Bianca Jagger, Jasmine Guinness and Camilla Al Fayed. "I'm in town until Harvey yanks me back," joked newlywed Chapman of her husband, Harvey Weinstein.

Guinness was too busy being starstruck. "I think I just saw Annie Lennox. I just stopped and gasped — so embarrassing," she said.

A NEW GUCCI: There's another Gucci in the accessories business: Alessandra Gucci, daughter of the late Maurizio Gucci. The young Alessandra, with an economics degree under her belt, is launching a limited edition collection of luxury handbags in alligator under the AG brand and a logo featuring two unicorns facing one another. The collection, which is made by artisans in Tuscany, comprises three models in pink, jungle and blue named after her father, her grandfather Rodolfo and herself. Noticeably absent from the list is her mother, Patrizia Reggiani, convicted for having commissioned the murder of Maurizio Gucci in 1995. Also absent is any mention of the Gucci name on the products — the brand has for years taken fierce legal action against family members who attempt to launch their own brands referencing their surname.

WESTWOOD'S LONDON VOTE: Vivienne Westwood never misses the opportunity to make her voice heard — loud and clear. Ahead of the designer's first London show for her Red Label diffusion line Thursday, Carlo D'Amario, managing director of Vivienne Westwood, on Tuesday appealed to all of London's major expat designers to follow in her footsteps and show their secondary lines in London. "I call on John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Burberry, among others, to show their younger distribution lines here in London, and unite to make London Fashion Week...not only a center for creativity but also for business," said D'Amario.