Update

Next Sunday the South Bank Show devotes a programme to John Galliano on the eve of his first couture show for Christian Dior. It follows a year in the life of the artist and designer, beginning with a behind-the- scenes view of his first collection for Givenchy. Marion Hume, former fashion editor of The Independent, was the programme consultant who followed Galliano over the year. "My biggest fascination was with John's image changes," she says. "I didn't know whether I would be talking to Heidi with long plaits, Erroll Flynn with short sleek hair and a moustache, or a white rasta with blond dreadlocks." Nowadays he is a trilby-clad gentleman who prefers to be addressed as Monsieur Galliano.

'The South Bank Show' is at 10.45pm on ITV on 19 January

Following in Galliano's footsteps as the latest hip urban designer to be taken into the LVMH ( Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton) stable is Marc Jacobs, 33-year-old darling of the American fashion industry, and favourite of supermodels Kate Moss and Amber Valetta. Last week it was confirmed that he would take on the position of artistic director at Louis Vuitton, the luxury leather goods company and, as well as being in charge of the leather goods and accessories, would design their first clothing ranges for men and women.

Jacobs is widely regarded as the man who brought "waif" dressing to prominence in 1992, when grunge was all the rage. Before that he was head designer at Perry Ellis, a casualwear company. It is expected that his collections for the century-old Louis Vuitton will continue in the sporty/modern/casual vein, to take the company into the new millennium.

The collections will be sold exclusively at the Louis Vuitton flagship stores in London, New York and Paris, from this autumn.

Plans to launch a lipstick called "Absolutely Fabulous" were scuppered last week. The make-up artist Francois Nars, whose range, Nars, is sold in London and New York, and Jennifer Saunders, creator, star and copyright owner of the hit BBC comedy that is cult viewing in America, had planned to launch the bright pink lipstick in aid of the breast cancer charity Beauty for Life.

The launch party for the new Ab Fab lippy was due to take place on 8 January, after a preview screening of the last ever Absolutely Fabulous programme, which was screened here in November. At the last moment, however, David Horner and Steve Rosenhaus, marketing men from the beauty industry, came along waving their US rights to the Ab Fab trademark. They plan to develop make-up, skin-care, clothes, accessories and even a perfume bearing the most kitsch fashion saying of the decade.

Horner and Rosenhaus plan to have their fabulous products in US stores by the end of 1997 and possibly in the UK for 1998. In the meantime Francois Nars will work with Beauty for Life on another projectn

Melanie Rickey