Your Morning Fashion and Beauty Report: The Beckhams welcome baby Harper

David and Victoria Beckham welcomed a baby girl in Los Angeles on Sunday. The newborn, named Harper Seven, is the first daughter in a family that includes three big brothers. She already inspired her fashion-designer mother to create a collection of "girly-girl" dresses while pregnant. Word is that Christian Louboutin is sending over a pair of custom red-soled booties. We think this will be one of the most fashionable baby girls ever. [Telegraph] 

And why, you may ask, the middle name "Seven"? Not a firm answer on that one, but there are theories: it was her soccer-star dad's jersey number when he played for Manchester United and for the English National Team. And it's considered a lucky number. [People]

Camilla Al Fayed, the daughter of ex-Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, has bought a controlling share in one of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge's favorite labels, Issa. Catherine wore a blue dress by Issa designer Daniella Helayel for her first engagement photo, and a couple of Issa frocks on her Canada/U.S. visit. Camilla Al Fayed's 51% stake will provide funds to help Issa grow. [Telegraph]

Kate Spade is teaming with Current/Elliott designers Emily Current and Meritt Elliott for a capsule collection of street-style handbags. Prices in the Westward by Emily and Merritt for Kate Spade collection will range from $245 to $1,295, and the bags will go on sale in August. [FabSugar]

Socialite Cornelia Guest, a committed vegan, is debuting a line of vegan handbags. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

PopSugar L.A. got a peek inside the hidden VIP room at the new What Goes Around Comes Around boutique on LaBrea in Los Angeles. The room is reserved for celebrity clients, costume designers and stylists who want a more private shopping experience. Inside there's "a treasure trove of amazing vintage pieces, everything from Chanel to YSL to more theatrical pieces and glitzy eveningwear," said writer Melody Nazarian. [PopSugar L.A.]  

Lingerie purveyor Frederick's of Hollywood plans to open its first flagship in Abu Dhabi this month. [WWD] (Subscription required.) 

Victoria's Secret angel Candice Swanepoel looks downright devilish vamping in the new fall ad campaign for Tom Ford women's wear, shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. The ads were shot outdoors in London, in a spot overlooking the Thames River, and will be seen in the September issues of fashion magazines. [WWD]

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-- Susan Denley

Photo: Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, wearing an Issa dress in her engagement photo with Prince William. Credit: Ben Stansall / AFP/Getty Images

Handicapping Kate Middleton's wedding gown designer: The dark horses

The frenzy over the royal wedding is reaching a fever pitch. It seems like every 15 minutes, a new story comes across the transom about who will be designing Kate Middleton's wedding gown. So what else can you do but jump in the fray? Each day this week, I will be blogging about some of the designers in contention and my thoughts about their chances. I'll start with the two dark horses.

Libelula: Libelu-who? Don't feel bad if you haven't heard of this label. I didn't know it, though the Huffington Post's royal correspondent Yvonne York insists Libelula is the one. It's designed by Sophie Cranston, whose website explains that she "honed her skills in the backrooms of Saville Row and Bellville Sassoon." She worked behind the scenes at Alexander McQueen and Temperley before taking a sabbatical in Andalucia, Spain, to learn the Spanish language and flamenco dancing. That is where Libelula (which means dragonfly in Spanish) was born, though it is now based in London.

Cranston's signature is the kind of close-fitting, bias-cut silhouette that Middleton favors. (The princess-to-be wore a black velvet Libelula coat to a friend's wedding in January.) Cranston specializes in dresses in colorful floral prints, as well as separates, which are available at speciality stores in Britain. The price range, $300 to $600, would suit Middleton's accessible fashion tastes, and signal to the world her intention to be a modern-day royal.

The label has a bespoke bridal collection, with gowns in similar silhouettes (see left) to the short dresses, many with short flutter sleeves and a minimum of surface embellishment in keeping with Middleton's clean style. A relatively simple Libelula gown could be a nice canvas for an elaborate floral headpiece or jeweled tiara. There's also little chance that the gown would ever look dated, as Princess Diana's does now. But I think ultimately, it would be an underwhelming choice.

Middleton is expected to wear two to three other dresses throughout her wedding day, however, and I could see a short Libelula dress (perhaps with some flamenco ruffles?) at the private celebration in the evening.

Issa: Certainly, no designer has benefited more from her association with Middleton more than Issa's Daniella Issa Helayel. (Helayel, a native of Brazil, designed the now-famous royal blue silk jersey dress Middleton wore to the engagement news conference in November.)

But wedding gowns are something that Helayel, based in London, hasn't really done. She's more of a day-to-evening, Diane von Furstenberg-type designer. So again, I'm not sure Issa would fulfill the fairytale fashion moment we are all hoping for on Friday. 

Helayel could make a great going-away dress though. Her signature silk jersey would certainly be comfortable for traveling to Australia, the Middle East or wherever--at this moment--the couple is rumored to be honeymooning.

Tuesday, we'll look at the sentimental favorites.

--Booth Moore 

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Top photo: Kate Middleton, in an Issa design, and Prince William pose in St. James' Palace in London after announcing their engagement. Bottom photo: A wedding dress by designer Sophie Cranston's fashion label Libelula, retailing at 750 pounds ($ 1225 US dollars) is displayed at the Katharine Bird shop in Battersea, south London, April 18, 2011. Credit: Paul Hackett/ Reuters. 

London Fashion Week: Issa's jersey princesses

With whimsical hats atop models' heads, and her signature silk jersey dresses done in flirty, shorter lengths, it seemed as if designer Daniella Helayel was winking at famous fan Kate Middleton, even though the future-royal was not in the house.

Issa has made a name for itself on stretch dresses that magically whittle the waist, courting fans such as Madonna and Cameron Diaz. But when Middleton wore an Issa royal blue, long-sleeve jersey dress to announce her engagement, suddenly, the label was thrust into the spotlight like never before. The dress has sold out several times, though my sister was able to score one on Saturday at the London department store Fenwick.

As for Helayel's fall collection, it was a greatest hits of sorts, with feather prints similar to ones she has used before, and the Middleton dress done in firecracker red (a popular color with designers this season). What looked most fresh considering fashion's current obsession with all things 1970s, were maxiskirts, one in a sparkly disco metallic. They were worn with simple turtlenecks, which seem to be showing up on a lot of runways. Turtlenecks were even layered under some of the dresses.

-- Booth Moore in London

Top photo: Kate Middleton and Prince William. Credit: Sang Tan / Associated Press

Middle photo: A look from the Issa fall-winter 2011 runway collection shown during London Fashion Week. Credit: Ian Gavan /Getty Images

Bottom photos: Looks from the Issa fall-winter 2011 runway collection shown during London Fashion Week. Credit: Leon Neal / Getty Images

A moment with Kate Middleton's favorite designer, Daniella Issa Helayel

British designer Daniella Issa Helayel hit the jackpot last month when Kate Middleton wore a sapphire-colored jersey dress from her label Issa to announce her engagement to Prince William. 

The dress, $535, caused a sensation. It sold out in just an hour on net-a-porter.com, suggesting that Middleton could be a one-woman stimulus plan for the British fashion industry, in the same way that first lady Michelle Obama has been in the U.S. for the likes of J. Crew, Thakoon and Jason Wu.

Helayel works primarily in jersey, which brings comparisons of her work to that of designer Diane von Furstenberg. But the Brazilian-born designer is quick to point out that she does not do wrap dresses, she does belted dresses. Since founding her label in London in 2001, Helayel has dressed Madonna, Keira Knightly and many others. But no one has created as much of a stir as Middleton, a longtime fan of the brand.

I caught up with Helayel for a few minutes recently to talk about all things Issa.

How has Kate Middleton changed your business?

It has changed in terms of the amount of press we’ve received. But in terms of sales, we can’t measure because we don’t have our own shops. I'm sure in department stores our sell-throughs have been much higher. [Kate] should be good for British fashion.

Why did you start Issa?