CANDY WASHINGTON

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Front-Row Faces...



Amanda Setton

Friends of the Bride: When it comes to Gossip Girl, the party circuit recognizes three of its starlets: Blake, Leighton, and Taylor. Make room for number four. Setton, who plays Penelope—Blair's bitchy underling—on the show, is BFF with Lorenzo Martone, Marc Jacobs' better half. More often than not, it's Setton filling the date-night void when Marc is home rearranging his sock drawer.
Most Likely to be Spotted At: Marc Jacobs. (Debbie Harry, Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Lopez, Winona Ryder, Kim Gordon…The Jacobs front-row coterie is a highly exclusive group. Setton, an expert on social stratification, will surely be admitted this fall.)


Isabel Lucas

Stone Cold: Leave it to Michael Bay to find another knockout for his Transformers franchise. Lucas, a soap star in her native Australia, plays a hot morphing robot in the summer blockbuster, and—poof!—just like that, reigning male fantasy figure Megan Fox has some competition. Sure, Fox may have cornered the market on Maxim and FHM covers, but speaking from the front row at Chanel this summer, Lucas revealed she's appearing in a spread for Vogue Italia. Lucas, 1; Fox, 0.
She's Crafty: A hot morphing robot? If that doesn't sound like the stuff of serious acting, wait for spring, when Lucas—a graduate of the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne—stars in Steven Spielberg's HBO World War II miniseries The Pacific.
She'd Rather Go Naked: Trilingual (her mother's Swiss and her dad's Australian; she speaks English, French, and German), tow-headed, and demure, Lucas could be confused for a goody-goody. Not so much: She's actually wanted for arrest. The animal lover joined Hayden Panettiere in protesting Japanese whaling practices in 2007, which led to charges of "interfering with international commerce."
Most Likely to Be Spotted At: Chanel, Stella McCartney.


Rumi Neely

The Muse's Muse: Fashiontoast, the San Diego-based blog created by and starring 26-year-old Neely, is presumably in Erin Wasson's bookmarks. The catwalker-turned-designer handpicked the blogger to model RVCA's Fall 2009 lookbook, which was shot by Neely's boyfriend (he snaps Fashiontoast's moody posts-cum-editorials).
Global Domination: Befriending Wasson means befriending Alexander Wang. Neely made it to both their shows last season—as a guest, not a model, although her new representation by Next means she probably could have walked if she wanted to. Another front-row sighting? At Emanuel Ungaro in March. Esteban Cortazar e-mailed Neely himself to show his true fandom. Fitting her for a dress to wear to the show was a nice touch, too.
But What She Really Wants to Do Is Style: Of course she does.
Most Likely to Be Spotted At: Alexander Wang, Phi.


Tavi Williams

Novice No More: Style Rookie, the title of William's sartorial blog, is now something of a misnomer. Beloved by Kate and Laura Mulleavy (the Rodarte girls sent Ms. Williams a pair of their knit leggings), the teen blogger has chatted with Fabiola Beracasa for Interview and rapped—for a substantial online audience—about Comme des Garçons.
Cover Girl: Williams was the rumored choice for the second Love (the honor ultimately went to Front-Row Face Coco Sumner) but ended up merely featured inside the "New Blood"-themed issue. It's all good, though. Williams scored the kickoff cover of the new Pop, making her Dasha Zhukova's official crush. And, at 13, 15 years her junior.
Tough Cookie: When asked what she thought of last season's Paris collections, Williams name-dropped Balmain as a label that could use some work. "I feel like Christophe Decarnin kind of just does the same thing, every season," she said. Can't you just hear the world-weary sigh?
Most Likely to Be Spotted At: Rodarte, Betsey Johnson.


Coco Sumner

True Brit: Sting and Trudie Styler's daughter made her modeling debut alongside Agyness Deyn in Burberry's Spring 2008 campaign, but, like Dad, she's really a musician at heart. Reports that she was spending a little too much time with fellow Brit Pete Doherty (by which we mean any time at all) circulated after the ne'er-do-well rocker was spotted supine and smoking in Sumner's tent at Glastonbury last summer. Suffice it to say Dad was none too pleased; rumors have since cooled.
Island Time: Sumner's ska/reggae act, I Blame Coco, was signed by Island Records in 2008. For authenticity's sake, Sumner and her band (she's on vocals and guitar) recorded their first album in Jamaica.
True Love: Forget Doherty. Shot by Mert & Marcus, Sumner's on the double cover of Love, Katie Grand's first outing after Beth Ditto's fleshy debut.
Most Likely to Be Spotted At: Topshop Unique, Burberry.


The Honorable Sophia Hesketh

That's Right, We Said Honorable: Her father's a Lord, which sounds like an excuse to ride horses to us, or…work for George Cortina as a stylist at Japanese Vogue. Yes, that's the one with all the way-out-there editorials shot by Inez and Vinoodh, Mert and Marcus, and Karl—i.e., a job that really requires jumping obstacles.
And People Like Her: A regular on Tatler's Most Invited list, Hesketh is a multinational partygoer (Julia Restoin-Roitfeld oftens keep her company). In the past year we've spotted her watching polo in New York, gallivanting through Moscow, and working a black leather biker jacket at the Serpentine Gallery Summer Party in London. She'd be easy to hate if she wasn't so fun and friendly.
Been There, Done That: "I used to go to the opening of Parliament when I was nine. It was really cool," Hesketh recently told Vanity Fair.
Most Likely to Be Spotted At: Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Miu Miu, Balmain.


Jane Aldridge

Paris, Texas: Who knew the Lone Star State could be so chic? Aldridge, the 17-year-old blogger phenom behind Sea of Shoes, has a wardrobe that could make stylists in the Marais rethink their outfits. She wears a Junya Watanabe flight coat and Givenchy bondage wedges to school (though only when it's a no-uniform day, presumably).
Kanye Approved: Glossy magazines have been tracking Aldridge since at least 2008, but the greatest compliment of all? Getting an e-mail of approval from Mr. West and a plug on his blog in March.
See Jane Walk: Urban Outfitters tapped the young blogette to design a line of shoes for the brand, which hit stores—in all their dizzy-heeled and lace-up glory—this summer.
Most Likely to Be Spotted At: Rodarte.


Josephine de la Baume

Boogie Nights: Maman and Papa may have titles (Baron and Baronne) and granddad may have been a magnate, but de la Baume, who splits time between Paris and NYC, is diligently pursuing an acting career. She and fellow struggling thesp Margherita Missoni debuted on the big screen in the 2008 short I Am an Island, but to see de la Baume in a feature-length presentation, look for Boogie Woogie, a London art scene romp where the actress joins Heather Graham, Alan Cumming, and Amanda Seyfried. (Ed.'s note: Yes, this will be Graham's second film with "Boogie" in the title.)
Mark Ronson Thinks She's Da Bomb: Get it? No, seriously, they're dating. The couple posed for Jalouse this July in a full-on nuptial spread. Bad luck? Maybe. Good press? You betcha.
She Sings, Too: She and brother Alexandre (she's 24; he's 23) are in a band called SingTank. Word is her producer boyfriend has helped de la Baume with a few of her songs. Can you say, album release party at Le Baron?
Most Likely to Be Spotted At: Chloé, Charlotte Ronson.


Becka Diamond

Best Friends Forever: Diamond, a Boston native, and model-of-the-mo' Dree Hemingway are likethis. They've even got a YouTube video. An aspiring actress who won Vogue's It Girl seal of approval last month, Diamond positively emits youthful sparkle.
Branded: It may not be as big as the Ritz, but Diamond's got a sizable diamond tattoo on one side of her wrist, and in case she really can't remember her last name, the word's inked in script on the other. If you still can't spot her runway-side, just look for her super-blond mop.
Band-Aid: Boyfriend Sonny Kilfoyle fronts indie rock act Calypso.
Most Likely to Be Spotted At: Calvin Klein Collection, Altuzarra.


Aurel Schmidt

Bugs and Guts: Forget sugar and spice. Schmidt, a visual artist whose work has been shown on Tiny Vices and at Deitch Projects, is more of a death-and-decay type of gal. "I draw rotting corpses all day. I have never been happier," she has said.
Oh, Canada: Hailing from Kamloops, British Columbia (what, you've never heard of it?), Schmidt hightailed it to Vancouver when she was 18. But it wasn't long before she made it to New York City, landing on Paper magazine's Beautiful People of 2009 list (alongside that other artist of death and decay, Whitney Port).
She Looks Just Like Buddy Holly: In her trademark black specs, at least.
Yes She Can-Can: Schmidt was one of the bondage-booted dancers in black body paint shimmying behind Kembra Pfahler at Proenza Schouler's Pitti W party this June. As everyone knows, life is all about the right collab.
Most Likely to Be Spotted At: Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler.


Amber LeBon

Well Bred: Mum's a modeling legend and Dad's a pop megastar. Yasmin and Simon LeBon—serial 1980's cover girl and Duran Duran frontman, respectively—are über-famous, and not just because they've been together for 23 years.
Bijoux by LeBon: Yes, she walked the Chanel runway with Mom when she was two, but the 19-year-old, 5' 10" stunner with a turn on the Moschino catwalk in the bag recently dished that she wants to study jewelry design at Central Saint Martins. "Being a model never occurred to me," she once said, with what appears to be actual modesty.
Former Coed: LeBon was Peaches Geldof's one-time schoolmate, but this front-row newcomer has kept a much lower profile than her club-going divorcée pal, not to mention more of her tights.
Most Likely to Be Spotted At: Moschino Cheap & Chic, Topshop Unique.


Alexia Niedzielski

Friends With Titles: A fixture in Charlotte Casiraghi's crew, Niedzielski debuted at the Crillon Ball in 1999 in a one-shouldered silver and feathered Hanae Mori column. Now she parties with future heads of state and pals like Tatiana Santo Domingo and Olympia Scarry in a mix of vintage and designer fare. Think layers of lace, caftan dresses, Martin Margiela blazers, and a big ol' Corto Moltedo clutch. No L.B.D.'s here, thank you very much.
Snap Happy: A photo editor at go-green luxury mag Above Magazine (Charlotte's the editor at large), Niedzielski accessorizes her highbrow boho frocks with very serious-looking cameras and the occasional less serious-looking, off-beat headband.
Most Likely to Be Spotted At: Chanel, Giambattista Valli.

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