Upon hearing the news Tuesday, Bungalow 8 owner Amy Sacco told WWD, "I am devastated. He was a sweet, smart and talented young man and had many friends. My heart goes out to his family."

Christensen said, "I am just beyond sad at this point, and shocked....I was on my way over to pay him a visit when I found out. I had just left him a message and heard his voice on the machine....He was such a special and genuine person, so extraordinarily talented because he was so raw and honest with his feelings. He was so full of life, so electric....This is immensely sad."

THAT SEVENTIES SHOW: Hilary Swank may be a high flyer in Hollywood, but the actress has yet to earn her wings. "I don't know how to fly, but I hope to learn very shortly," said a sinewy Swank, who was taking time out from filming "Amelia Earhart" to attend Giorgio Armani's Privé couture show Monday night. "But I can skydive," she said.

Ellen Pompeo of "Grey's Anatomy" was feeling more grounded, to say the least. "I'm a well-paid slave, tied down to ABC," said Pompeo, who plans to tone down her self-described "daredevil" image, due to the writers' strike, on the red carpet at the Screen Actors Guild awards on Sunday. The actress, who spent Tuesday going for fittings in Paris, said the current climate calls for "less bling." Her rebellious streak may yet win through, though. "Watch me show up in McQueen — with a headdress," she deadpanned.

Sophia Loren said she was working on her musical debut, themed around Federico Fellini. "I'm a professional, and all professionals can sing," she explained.

Attending her first couture show, fast-rising British actress Rebecca Hall said she just wrapped up Woody Allen's "Vicki Cristina Barcelona," opposite Scarlett Johansson, and Ron Howard's "Frost/Nixon." "That's good for fashion," she said of the latter film. "It's set in the Seventies and so I got to wear a lot of Halston replicas. I loved it."

HITS AND RUN: Carla Bruni — the model-turned-singer and potential new first lady of France — has been a no-show at the couture shows this week in a nation obsessed with her every move. And, while Europe awaits word if and when she and President Nicolas Sarkozy will wed, gifts are already arriving for the new couple at the Elysée Palace. According to a Paris source, these include one from Bruni's fashion friend Karl Lagerfeld. Knowing jogging is a favorite activity of the pair, the designer recently dispatched his and hers iPods loaded with the latest music from DJ Michel Gaubert, the source said.