Hilary Duff

Denise Truscello/WireImage

Hilary Duff has come a long way from her Disney princess days. Not only is the former child star gearing up to play the lead in a remake of the classic outlaw flick Bonnie and Clyde, she’s also getting ready to release the downtown cool clothing line that we told you about back in February. And at an AIDS charity event this week, Hilary chatted about her new ventures, including her collection with DKNY. The actress admits to Nylon Online that Femme for DKNY is “kind of a selfish line, because it’s skinny jeans, which look the best on me.” She also included fun personal touches like multiple-size belt loops. “Sometimes I want to wear a skinny little belt wrapped around a million times, or sometimes I want to wear a really fat one that won’t ever stay in place, slung low. So it just has a lot of options,” she explains. And while Hilary was sure to include her style favorites, her design wheels started spinning with inspiration from “normal girls.” “I’ll be walking down the street and think, oh she looks cute!” Hilary says. “Especially being in New York because everyone has such unique styles. And it’s not people who have a ton of money or have a huge closet, but it”s people wearing what they love and having a unique way of putting it together.” Click here to check out more of Nylon Online’s interview with Hilary.

Jesse Grant/WireImage

If you want to know the secret to many gorgeous Hollywood bodies look no further then Max Azria.  At the opening of Live! On Sunset, a chic new store in West Hollywood, the designer behind the Herve Leger “bandage dress” displayed his spring collection and received praise from his famous fans. “I think I’m a little bit in love with Max just as a person,” said co-host Hilary Duff, “but he makes every girl’s body look insane and I love that!”  Sophia Bush counts Azria’s “amazing European loving sensibility” as his design gift and said, “he wants us all to feel embraced and loved…a more beautiful version of ourselves.” The real beauty of the curve hugging “bandage dress” is its flattering silhouette for all sizes. “I love the shape that they give. They’re not just for like stick thin people,” said Leona Lewis.  Taraji P. Henson summed up the vast appeal by tellling PEOPLE.com, “The best way I can put it is that it’s like a Spanx in a dress.  You don’t have to wear Spanx (because) it sucks you up and holds you in in all the right places.  That’s the perfect dress!” For Bush, Herve Leger also evoked nostalgic feelings, “I think the first time I ever wore Herve to an event was the Teen Choice Awards a couple years ago.  I was in this amazing dress and it was a great night for me. I got three surfboards to take home.  It was a very big memorable evening both fashion-wise and professionally.” – Michelle Ward

Chelsea Lauren/WireImage

Move over Rachel Bilson, DKNY Jeans is gearing up to turn another celebrity into a design star. Hilary Duff has just announced that she’s partnering with the label to co-create a collection of rocker-chic pieces for the Femme for DKNY Jeans collection. And the partnership was a natural choice for Hilary, who made sure she was picking the right partner. “I took time finding the right fashion house to collaborate with in a design partnership,” she says. “I have always adored and worn DKNY jeans, so it made perfect sense to reach out to them. We hit it off immediately, sharing a design vision offering something special for young women like me.” And what do women like Hilary want? Versatility, for one thing. Duff plans to fill the collection with multi-functional garments, including tunics with removable cowl scarves and skinny jeans with loops that adjust between thin and wide belts. The multi-platinum star is also making sure the collection reflects her signature style by balancing feminine details like poppies and sequins with tougher elements like vinyl, motorcycle details and menswear fabrics. Prices for the pieces, which will hit stores in August, will range from $39 for a tee to $129 for outerwear. Tell us: What do you think of Hilary’s collaboration? Will you buy her clothing?

AR/Flynet

What Hollywood fashionista doesn’t love an excuse to indulge in shoes? And at last week’s Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Award event honoring Manolo Blahnik, everyone from Lucy Liu to Hilary Duff, January Jones and Nicky Hilton had their best excuse yet. Liu, who presented Blahnik with the award, wore his chic and strappy sandals. “These shoes are incredibly comfortable,” she told PEOPLE. “They’re slip-ons first of all, and they’re incredibly elegant. I love the idea of detail that he puts into his shoes — and they’re super comfortable.” As for how many pairs of Manolos Liu owns, “You literally cannot count!” she laughs. As guests milled around, drinking mojitos and looking at the iconic designs displayed in Lucite boxes, Hilton dished about what she thinks makes the designer’s shoes so popular. “You just feel good in them,” she said. “They’re so fun and they’re all so different. I have a lot [of pairs]. It’s a hobby — you collect them.” And we can’t think of a chicer pastime. –Reporting by Jenny Sundel

Michael Caulfield/WireImage

If there are two things that Hollywood’s biggest stars love, it’s stylish shoes and worthy causes. And the Stuart Weitzman-sponsored celebrity-designed shoe auction is combining the two — and letting everyone from Hilary Duff to Jessica Alba get creative and give back. Twenty-nine of your favorite fashionistas have customized and autographed the sole of a Stuart Weitzman pump, which are up for auction online only between now and September 30th, with 100% of proceeds going directly to support ovarian cancer research. And while we’re feeling partial to Jessica Simpson’s bedazzled creation above, click over to stuartweitzmancelebrityauction.com to check out looks by Sarah Michelle Gellar, Rachel Bilson, Blake Lively and more to judge for yourself. Then place your bid and get in on giving back.

Carlos Costas/ Pacific Coast News

Can anyone tell me where Hilary Duff’s giant zebra bag in StarTracks is from? I think Halle Berry was recently photographed with a similar one. — Megan

Hilary Duff shows off her wild side down-under as she arrives at the Sydney airport toting the hottest Jimmy Choo bag on the the market. The singer’s ponyhair zebra print Jimmy Choo bag is new for the Spring/Summer ‘08 season. Even with a price tag of $3,395, the “Saba” Printed Pony handbag is already on back order at jimmychoo.com. The Saba style bag with its African inspired bangles is quickly becoming an A-list favorite–Katherine Heigl has it in brown suede, $2,450! If you have the cash to burn check a local Jimmy Choo store for availablity or to order. If not, try one of these other zebra printed bags we found. Don’t forget to check out all the other star styles we found!

Get Hilary’s Bag for Less:
DeGroot brown suede Zebra hobo, $289, bluefly.com

Zebra-print tote bag, $169, spiegel.com

Steve Madden Balma zebra bag, $48, stevemadden.com

Frazer Harrison/Getty

Heidi Klum made our Academy Awards Best Dressed List with her red silk Haute Couture by John Galliano gown, but the Project Runway host isn’t going to be adding this stunner to her dress collection any time soon. The model is donating this one-of-a-kind Galliano to benefit women’s heart health, a cause she supported by walking the Red Dress Collection runway during Fashion Week. You can enter a sweepstakes to win Heidi’s couture gown at mycokerewards.com — Diet Coke will donate $1 to support women’s heart health for every entry towards a goal of $250,000. A winner will be chosen on March 10. Tell us: Did you like Heidi’s Oscar dress?

Click here to see more iconic red dresses throughout Oscars history, including Nicole Kidman and Catherine Zeta-Jones.