The modeling industry, as with other luxury-linked businesses, has been struggling in the sluggish economy. Agencies and designers alike are more cautious with their spending making a coveted modeling contract even harder to get these days. But for the elite models, top earners as measured from June 2008 through June 2009, the modeling world does not hold any obstacles. Still making millions, gaining new contracts and diversifying their stakes between endorsements, catwalks and reality shows, such well-known models as Gisele Bündchen (#1) and Heidi Klum (#2) haven't lost anything in the changing marketplace.

These top-models can be likened to professional athletes whose contracts and million-dollar-checks don't decline with the fluctuating economy. A-Rod and Kobe Bryant won't see a decrease in their earnings just because Wall Street is fickle. I would doubt Hollywood's top earners are affected either. It seems when it comes to celebrities, whether cover girls, sports entertainers or the silver screen's finest, matters of the world economy just don't hit home. I bet those millionaires who made their wealth through investments, business transactions and real estate are wishing they could have been blessed with long, lean legs and dynamite smiles right about now.

Russell James has what is indisputably one of the best jobs on Earth - photographing naked supermodels for lots of money. The Australian lensman has shot numerous ad campaigns for Victoria's Secret as well as sizzling spreads for Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue. His amazing new XL monograph is just out from teNeues, publishers of the beloved Luxury series. Gisele Bundchen (on the book's cover, above) and Heidi Klum start stripping at the mere mention of his name, it seems. Aside from the eye-popping images, however - we wish we could show you some - James' story is also inspiring, as told in his introductory essay, "Trash Cans to Supermodels in Nine Easy Steps." Actually it's a lot more complicated than that. You can order a copy here.

On Nov. 19, Christie's in London will auction off a stunning collection of photographs including some provocative shots of the world's most beautiful women. From a purely aesthetic standpoint the highlight of these is this 2000 portrait of Brazilian bombshell Gisele Bundchen by Mark Seliger, estimated at $9,000 to $12,000 - a relative bargain compared to Martin Schoeller's 2003 Angelina Jolie with Blood, est. at $23,000 - $39,000.

Also included in the sale: Albert Watson's 1993 nude Kate Moss, Marrakech, est. at $23,000 - $31,000; David LaChapelle's 1999 Britney Spears, Baby, est. $23,000 - $31,000; Michel Comte's 1996 James King, New York City, est. $6,000 - $9,000; and Gavin Bond's 2007 snap of Victoria's Secret stunner Adriana Lima, est. $5,000 - $8,000.

Prices for top-quality, unpolished diamonds may be falling but a pair of big sparklers did quite well at Christie's today. The Ponahalo diamonds, two rectangular cut stones, of approximately 102 and 70 carats brought in a total of $6.16 million. They sold to a Middle Eastern buyer at Christie's in New York. The bids came in anonymously over the telephone but after the buy, the buyer, Mr Amer Radwan of Dubai asked that the auctioneer reveal his name.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Ponahalo diamonds will be donated to Russell Simmons' Diamond Empowerment Fund, benefiting educational programs in Africa.

Gisele Bundchen's jewels also did fairly well. Her yellow diamond ring which had a high estimate of $20,000 went for $30,000.

You may not look like Gisele Bundchen but if you have the money you can own her jewelry. The Brazilian bombshell who is much beloved on our pages, is selling a six carat diamond pendant estimated at $120,000 to $150,000 as well as a 3.35 carat Sabbadini yellow diamond ring estimated at $15,000 to $20,000 as part of the Christie's Jewels: The New York Sale auction on October 15. Gisele hasn't revealed who bought the pieces for her but I'm guessing it wasn't her current quarterback squeeze Tom Brady and rumors abound over whether her ex-boyfriend Leonardo DiCaprio was the mystery purchaser. A portion of proceeds from the auction will go to the Diamond Empowerment Fund.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--James H. Herbert II, the chairman and chief executive of the First Republic Bank, listed his penthouse at Trump Parc East on Central Park South, shown above, earlier this month for $38 million, nearly four times what he paid back in 2005. The listing is here.
--Real estate investor Keith Rubenstein and his wife Inga have spent $3.2 million on a two-bedroom duplex at 101 Warren Street in Tribeca. The duplex is smaller than the $20 million penthouse he had originally agreed to buy in the building. Rubenstein, his wife and their son, Keith Jr., will stay in the Warren Street apartment for about two years while their new East 62nd mansion is renovated.
--Enrique Norten paid $1.929 million for an apartment at One York Street, the building he designed in northern Tribeca.
--Pete Peterson, the co-founder and senior chairman of the Blackstone Group, and the chairman emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, has bought that organization's apartment at the Imperial House co-op on East 69th Street, paying the council $3.04 million. Peterson bought the apartment so that Leslie Gelb, the council's so-called Board Senior Fellow and its president from 1993 to 2003 could continue to live there with his family.
--An apartment belonging to hedge fund manager Vedula Murti and his wife Seema Kalia and designed by Madonna's designer, Jamie Drake is now on the market for $10.75 million. The couple bought for $7,127,750 two years ago. Check out the colorful listing here.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--The loft apartment in SoHo where Heath Ledger died in January ins now listed for $26,000 a month. The listing is here.
--Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of England's Manchester United Football Club is picking up a three-bedroom penthouse in Manhattan House, at 200 E. 66th St.
--Developer Janna Bullock has bought a brand-new apartment at the Plaza for $8.78 million.

From Newsday's Real LI:
--J.Crew chief executive Millard Drexler is in contract to buy a house in Wainscott for $17 million.
--Quarterback Chad Pennington has gone into contract on his Muttontown home. It was our estate of the day earlier this month.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--The official sale price on Tom Arnold's Tarzana home was $1.8 million which was below the list price of $2.275 million and below the amount that Tom paid for the house in late 2006.
-Actor Hamish Linklater who stars on "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and his playwright wife Jessica Goldberg have put their three-bedroom home in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles on the market for $675,000. They have picked up a new home in Los Feliz that had been listed at $1.397 million for $1.362 million. The listing for the home for sale is here.
--The estate of Heath Ledger has sold his Hollywood Hills home for $2.5 million.

From the Real Estalker:
--Dallas Cowboys quarterback and Jessica Simpson's boyfriend Tony Romo has picked up a home in Irving, Texas that was listed at $699,000.
--Quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bundchen are rumored to have have paid $11.75 million for a 3.6-acre vacant lot in the same gated neighborhood in Brentwood that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger lives in.
--via the San Francisco Chronicle, a penthouse in the St. Regis Residences San Francisco is being listed for $70 million. VIctor MacFarlane bought all three (unfinished) pricey penthouse units at the St. Regis back in late 2005 for a reported $30 million which set a record in San Francisco at the time. The property is around 20,000 square feet of space with four terraces and features 360 degree views.
--Rumor has it that Mel Gibson snapped up Tea Leoni and David Duchovny's Malibu mansion which was quickly on the market for $12 million.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Hedge-fund manager John Paulson has lowered the price on his Hamptons home by $2.6 million. It is now listed at $16.9 million. He bought it for $12.75 million in 2006. The listing is here.
--Boston Celtics player Ray Allen has lowered the price of his former Seattle-area home to $5.2 million from $6 million. It was our estate of the day on Saturday.
--Former Seattle Mariners outfielder Jay Buhner has listed his custom-built home on 80 acres for $12 million, we'll be checking that one out as Monday's estate of the day.
--Manhattan's Spence School, an all-girls, K-12 private school founded in 1892, recently closed on its purchase of a $27 million townhouse directly behind its main East Side building.


From the LA Times Hot Property:
--David Barrett, a producer and director who has worked on episodes of "Cold Case," "Smallville" and "Bionic Woman," has bought a house in Toluca Lake for $1.2 million.
--John Cleese has put another Montecito home on the market, this time for $10.75 million. The listing for his Fernald Point beach front home is here.
--Studio musician Jason Sinay has sold his six-bedroom home in the Beverly Hills flats area for $6 million.

Brazilian bombshell Gisele Bundchen just slashed a whopping $5 million off the original asking price on her Manhattan penthouse. The supermodel first listed the West Village spread at $10.9 million last September, then lowered the price a few times, ending up at $7.9 million before withdrawing it from the market in the spring.

Now the Wall Street Journal reports Bundchen just re-listed the pad for $5.9 million, a nearly 50% reduction. She paid almost $3 million for the modern 1,700-sq.ft. triplex with a wraparound terrace and roofdeck overlooking the Hudson River in 2002.

Meanwhile, the Journal also notes that Bundchen's beau, football star Tom Brady, has upped the price on his 3,000-sq.ft., three-bedroom apartment at the Time Warner Center. He first listed it in 2007 for $16.5 million before taking it off the market. He has now re-listed the spread at $18.29 million, about a 30% increase.

Aquascutum, the London luxury brand founded in 1851, has brought back Brazilian bombshell Gisele Bundchen to star in its new Fall ad campaign. The pictures, co-starring model Jamie Doran, were shot at London's historic St. Paul's Cathedral, Vogue UK reports.

Meanwhile, the company which invented and patented several waterproof materials and pioneered the trench coat, is introducing its first ever line of bags for both men and women. The traditional brand began its foray into high fashion a couple years back when it hired Pierce Brosnan to star in a series of James Bond-style ads.

Over the years Aquascutum coats have sheathed the likes of the Queen Mother, Winston Churchill, Sophia Loren, Greta Garbo, Sean Connery, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart and Sir Edmund Hillary.

Photo: Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin / GQ

Since our last post about nude photos of Brazilian bombshell Gisele Bundchen was such a hit, we thought we'd give you an exclusive preview of some new ones from the July issue of GQ hitting stands next week. The saucy snaps, by fashion photog duo Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, accompany a cover story on the world's richest and most beautiful supermodel. In the article Gisele discusses money - she reportedly earned $35 million last year; her football star boyfriend Tom Brady - he still hasn't proposed; and the no-nonsense attitude she takes vis-à-vis the fashion business - "When you are out there with the wolves, you gotta play with the wolves," she says. You can also watch a video of the shoot here.

The buzz at big photo auctions lately has been all about nude supermodels. Perfectly understandable, of course, but how many times can you really stand to see Gisele naked? (OK, no need to answer that). At Sotheby's latest photo sale in London on Tuesday, we're pleased to see some stunning images on offer which while short on supermodel cleavage nonetheless have plenty of appeal. Take for instance this portrait of the beautiful Brigitte Bardot taken by Terry O'Neill 1971 with an estimate of $8,000 - $12,000. Not one of the more expensive items on offer, but worth every penny in our estimation.

Also included in the amazing auction is Helmut Newton's 1975 photo of Elsa Peretti, est. $24,000 - $30,000, and his 1987 portrait of Jodie Foster, est. $14,000 - $18,000; Andy Warhol's Polaroid of Muhammad Ali taken in 1977, est. $10,000 - $14,000; David Bailey's 1969 double portrait of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, est. $20,000 - $30,000; and a recent print made from Bert Stern's famed Marilyn Monroe series (recently aped by Lindsay Lohan), est. $6,000 - $8,000. See the gallery for more.

At the Metropolitan Museum's star-studded Costume Institute Gala in Manhattan the other night, all the best-dressed men wore tuxedos by Tom Ford. While some fellows got creative with their black tie and others simply looked boring in notched lapel numbers, those who sported Ford's threads -- including Gisele Bundchen's football star beau Tom Brady, actors Djimon Hounsou and Jimmy Fallon, and A-list shoe designer Christian Louboutin -- were the evening's standouts.

Ford himself (pictured here with actress Natasha Richardson) went with a classic double-breasted dinner jacket with grosgrain lapels. Brady, Fallon and Louboutin all wore Ford's signature single-breasted peak lapel style; Brady and Fallon went the extra mile with matching waistcoats. Hounsou wore a black three-piece wool and cashmere suit which was equally elegant, as you'll see in the gallery below. Ford's suits start at about $5,000.

Following Christie's' successful photo auction earlier this month where a nude of First Lady of France Carla Bruni fetched $91,000, the auction house is staging another sale of stunning images in a couple of weeks. The eye-popping event, taking place in London on May 15, features another photo by Michel Comte, who took the Bruni pic. The new one is of Brazilian bombshell Gisele Bundchen from 1999, and carries an estimate of $12,000 - $16,000.

Also included is an Albert Watson portrait of Kate Moss from 1993 (pictured here, est. $16,000 - $20,000), a Peter Beard photo of Salvador Dali in 1963 (est. $24,000 - $35,000), Richard Avedon's iconic 1981 image of Nastassja Kinski and a friendly boa constrictor (est. $30,000 - $40,000), and Lewis Morley's famous 1963 shot of Christine Keeler (est. $8,000 - $12,000), the model who was at the crux of a famous British government scandal in the '60s.

In addition, there are works by Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus, Robert Mapplethorpe, and William Eggleston on offer. The 115-lot auction is expected to bring in over $3 million.

[via Men.Style]

Gisele Bunchen, one of the richest models in the world (if not the richest), has been the face of Dolce & Gabbana's fragrance and clothing, but now she'll be lending more than just her good looks to the designer label: she's teaming up with them to launch her own line of "chic and feminine" spring wear. It seems everything Gisele touches turns to gold (as the face of D&G's 'The One' fragrance she's helped skyrocket sales to £75 million), so if past performance holds true her designs should be very popular. The line will be called "Bündchen by Dolce & Gabbana," and the launch is expected in March 2008.


Via Trendhunter

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Gisele Bundchen has lowered the price on her penthouse apartment, bedroom shown above, from $10.9 million to $9.2 million. The listing is here.
--Another supermodel Natalia Vodianova and her husband Justin Portman have marked down their fabulous penthouse from $11 million to $9.9 million. It was our estate of the day back in June.
--News anchor Kaity Tong and her husband, Patrick Callahan, have been living at the Gramercy Park Hotel after their Chelsea apartment was invaded by mold that may have come from a construction site next door.
--Real-estate marketing icon Louise Sunshine has listed her two-bedroom West Palm Beach condo at Trump Plaza for $1.399 million.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Vera Wang has paid $23.1 million to the estate of her late father Cheng Ching Wang for his duplex at 740 Park.
--Jerry Moss, co-founder of A&M Records, has paid $9,472,597.13 for an eighth-floor Plaza apartment.
--Two co-ops at The Ritz Tower at 465 Park Avenue that belong to late oil man Warren Alpert have sold for relatively small amounts. A two-bedroom apartment went for $1.4 million, city records show, and a fourth-floor studio/storage space sold for $175,000. Before his death he gave $100 million to Brown University's medical school.
--Celebrity photo retoucher Pascal Dangin paid $5.8 million this month for a townhouse at 281 West Fourth Street, in the West Village brownstone dreamland near West 11th Street.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Yves Saint Laurent and his business partner, Pierre Berge, have listed their estate in France's Normandy region again for less money and less acreage. The property, now about 52 acres, is for sale at €12.5 million, or about $17.8 million. The entire 67-acre Deauville estate was first listed more than two years ago for €20 million, then withdrawn last year. In 2005, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were rumored to be purchasing the home.
--Photographer and painter Richard Prince paid $9.7 million last month for a 1.9-acre property of his neighbor Diane Fuhrmann in Wainscott, N.Y., bringing his property to about 3.2 acres.The new land has a five-bedroom house.
--Screenwriter Peter Griffiths sold his Los Angeles house last month for close to its $29.5 million asking price.

From Berg Properties Celebrity Big Time Listings:
--Lori Loughlin has sold her Cape Cod-style house in the Hollywood Hills for $2.4 million.
--Radio host Tom Joyner and his fitness-guru wife Donna Richardson Joyner have sold their house in Beverly Hills, Calif. for its $5,600,000 asking price. It was our estate of the day back in August.
--It's time for another round of guess who owns this celebrity house.
--Public records reveal that the official price Paris Hilton got for her Los Angeles home was $3,865,000.
--Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have gone to contract to sell their Nashville house, which had been on the market for $2.45 million. It was our estate of the day back in September.
--Charlize Theron is latest buyer in the new Broadway Hollywood building in Hollywood paying at least $2 million for her unit.
--Professional skateboarder Eric Koston has paid $2,075,000 for a single-family house in Los Feliz.

From the Real Estalker:
--Mike and Irina Medavoy have listed their home in Beverly Hills, CA for $23.5 million.Indulge your eyes at the estate website here.
--Tony Danza has listed his five-bedroom Sherman Oaks home for $6.15 million. It is our estate of the day later today.
--Rumor has it that Shaquille O'Neal may have sold his home in Star Island, Miami which was listed at $32 million. The scuttlebutt is that baseball player Alex Rodriguez may be the new owner.
--Fashion designer Jennifer Nicholson has listed her charming four-bedroom home in Santa Monica for $7,995,000. The listing is here.
--Actress Katherine Heigl has purchased a home in Los Feliz for $2.55 million.
--Avril Lavigne's long-ago-vacated home is on the market for $6.2 million. The lavish property website is here.
--Dan Akyroyd and Donna Dixon's Hollywood Hills home which has previously been owned by Mama Cass and Ringo Starr is now listed at $4.2 million. The listing is here.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Matthew McConaughey is ready to move out of his Airstream trailer in Malibu and into a real home. He has found a four-bedroom home for around $10 million in Malibu that sits on over an acre.
--David Draiman, lead singer of the band Disturbed, has put his fantastic Northridge castle, complete with turrets, gargoyles, dragons and griffins, on the market for $2.849 million. The listing is here and is listed as status "pending" so it may already be sold.
--David Barenholtz, co-owner of the Beverly Hills-based tea emporium Le Palais des Thés and Culver City-based David Gallery, and his partner, Jeffery Allyn, have purchased the home of the late screenwriter and producer Bernard Gordon for nearly its $2.3-million asking price.
--Dan Dugan, a production manager of the TV series "Girlfriends" and "The Game," and his wife, Jessie, have purchased a getaway on Maui for $1 million.

A while ago we looked at the rumor that Lindsay Lohan would follow in the footsteps of Uma Thurman, Jennifer Lopez and Gisele Bundchen and pose with a  Louis Vuitton bag but alas it is not to be. Instead, assaultive and glamorous model Naomi Campbell will be the next face of Louis. Marc Jacobs wanted Lohan on the campaign but the powers that be at LVMH thought the freckled teen was "too American" for their global brand.