Tiffany's Gems... Rachel Roy

HARD CORE: It wasn’t exactly a free-for-all, but there were a handful of die-hard Comme des Garçons and Louis Vuitton fans eager to enter the two brands’ new temporary store in Tokyo on its opening day Thursday. A line started to form at about 10:45 a.m., a little more than an hour before the store opened its doors at noon. Store clerks, clad in Comme des Garçons’ signature black and white, came out and assured shoppers that there was no need to wait in line since there is no limit on the production run for Comme des Garçons creative director Rei Kawakubo’s special LV bags. Anyone who visits the store during its three-month lifespan can order one — although the bags are available only at that store.

Still, several of those queueing said they wanted to get a better look at the bags before they decided whether to place an order. “I have been a fan of Louis Vuitton for 35 years, but that is not why I came here. I want to see something edgy created in this collaboration,” said Akiko Hikoyama, a 55-year-old executive at a construction company and the first person waiting in line to get into the store.

Ken Iwano, 32, ran to the store from a dental clinic, where he was being treated for a toothache because he erroneously believed the store opened at 11 a.m. instead of noon. “I have been a fan of Comme des Garçons for 10 years, but I have never thought a collaboration with Louis Vuitton would happen. I want to see how Comme des Garçons put a twist on a classic Louis Vuitton monogram bag.”

STYLE JEWELRY: Tiffany’s is looking to Angelina Jolie’s stylist to amp up its glamour quotient for its 2009 Blue Book Collection presentation on Sept. 7. Jennifer Rade, who has worked with Jolie since collaborating with her for a music video for “Tomb Raider 2” five years ago, will be styling the show, which will feature dozens of the company’s major pieces, including Jean Schlumberger’s Fleurage bracelet with green tourmalines and a colorless, internally flawless diamond ring weighing in at 20 carats. “My goal is to show people that you don’t have to lock up your special pieces in a safety deposit box, that life is short and jewelry was made for wearing,” said Rade, who has picked “legendary New York fashion” as the show’s theme. (Rade hopes to use up to 40 pieces, which will mean piling on brooches and necklaces, though she said that “some of the pieces are so amazing you can’t pair them with anything but pearl earrings.”) As for Jolie’s favorite baubles, Rade will say only that the actress “has her moments. It depends on what we’re doing and for what. [Big jewelry] isn’t an everyday thing for her.”

RACHEL ROY’S FOLLOWING: With husband Damon Dash in the music industry, Rachel Roy undoubtedly could have pulled some serious celebrities at her presentation in Chelsea Thursday. But the designer is focused on her growing business and instead attracted a flock of her new investors and advisers, such as Marvin Traub and Stephen Ruzow, as well as Jones Apparel Group executives including Susan Metzger and Stacy Lastrina.

AMERICAN BOY: Condé Nast Media Group president Richard Beckman found a few hours to become an American citizen on Thursday morning. The executive now has dual citizenship in the U.K. and here after being sworn in as a U.S. citizen along with 30 others Thursday morning. “I’ve been living here since 1983, with the exception of two years, so it was the point in my life where I had been in America as long as I had been in London,” said Beckman via phone from rehearsals for Friday’s Fashion Rocks concert. And, with the heated presidential contest between Republican candidate John McCain and Democratic nominee Barack Obama, “it’s a good year to get my voting rights,” he added.

Y-3 RAW: Y-3’s always theatrically staged show is being “set against an atmosphere of sharp, extreme simplicity” in a raw venue in Chelsea, “which is a reflection upon the tradition of sport and quotes from a bygone era,” this Sunday, according to Adidas. Expected guests include Adidas’ own NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards, Veronica Webb, Idris Elba, Genevieve Jones, Vincent Gallo, Casey Spooner, Neville Wakefield and Leigh Lezark and Geordon Nicol of the MisShapes. In conjunction with its spring show, Y-3 is unveiling its second New York flagship on 92-94 Greene Street in SoHo, which will host an opening event Tuesday.

WESTWOOD HITS THE HIGH NOTES: Vivienne Westwood is making a return — of sorts — to her Punk roots with the creation of her first music compilation. “Catwalk Breakdown,” to be released by Mercury Records on Sept. 15 at Selfridges, features a wide variety of tracks ranging from Mae West to Tchaikovsky to The New York Dolls to Luca Mainardi. The music comes from decades of catwalk shows, and Westwood refers to the tracks as, “Pieces that I’ve relied on over all these years — my classics. They’ve never failed me.” To mark the launch, Selfridges will devote its Room of Wonder to Westwood, with plans to showcase archive pieces, current designs and one-off show outfits. The album will be on sale at Selfridges and Westwood stores during the week of the launch, and then at music and fashion retailers across Britain.

RICH AND RICHER: Many designers crash Paris couture week and show ready-to-wear, but Andrew Gn is taking a different tack: Word has it the designer will unveil about a dozen looks from a new superluxurious collection called Atelier at his rtw show Oct. 1 during Paris Fashion Week. The limited edition dresses, crafted with couture techniques, are slated to retail from $15,000 and up.

BLUE BELLE: Sporting looks by up-and-coming designers seems set to be the next way of displaying fashion savvy: that’s if Keira Knightley’s latest red-carpet outing is anything to go by. The actress opted for a bustier frock by fledgling couturier Alexis Mabille for her London premiere of “The Duchess” on Wednesday — accessorized with classic Chanel sparklers, nonetheless.