Cinderella story

This year's Delfin Australian Fashion Design Awards ceremony at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre was the occasion for some fast and loose behaviour on the part of Queensland glitterati. Gold Coast radio personality Renae King flitted through the assembled guests wearing a pair of diamond encrusted shoes valued at $30,000. I use the term "wearing" loosely as - according to a source close to Ragtrader - La King spent most of the evening dangling the shoes near her face like a pair of mutant earrings, in a manner one onlooker described as "mental". The shoes and accessories were created by Shane Paradise from Facet 58 & Paradise Jewellers at Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast. If King's involvement was designed as a publicity stunt, we can only wonder what motivated her behaviour later in the evening, when she was spotted rolling around on the floor with one of the evening's winners, Queensland designer Daniel Alexander Crooke, who had earlier distinguished himself by making an obscene gesture at his audience upon receiving his award for best menswear label. Gushed King of her footwear: "It was all very Cinderella.... they were taken from me at the stroke of midnight along with the other gorgeous pieces I was loaned." I'm guessing that rather than the imagined fairytale ending, a $100 voucher for the Oriental Whiskey Bar included with all guests' invitations was the real reason organisers ended up prizing King's shoes from her.

:The price of fame
When renowned New York writer Dorothy Parker famously quipped "If you want to know what God thinks of money just look at the people he gave it to," she was really talking about self-styled princess of kitsch Paris Hilton, even though the super brat was a long way off even being a twinkle in her mother's eye at that point. Hilton's latest purchase-cum-publicity-stunt - a crystal encrusted Chopper bike - makes Renae King's diamond shoes look like a Christmas cracker gift. Hand finished with innumerable crystals, the bike was recently presented to the blonde of blondes complete with her name spelt out in gems on the tank and sporting a custom pink paint job. Other features that made it a statement of obscene wealth to outdo all other statements of obscene wealth included an iPod dock, a custom navigation system that said "that's hot" in Paris's voice upon start up and a gas cap that doubled as a compact mirror. Ever the fashion icon, Paris was also presented with matching Swarovski crystal covered riding shoes, helmet and a Beverly Hills Angels jacket. I can't help feeling that another writer - the famous gay icon and raconteur Quentin Crisp - surely has the last word here. "Fashion is what you adopt when you don't know who you are". Then again, with a crystal encrusted Chopper, who a needs character?