Castings for the fall shows in Rio began this Saturday in São Paulo. Unlike what happens in New York or Paris, the castings for the shows in Rio are done all in one day at the same place, with stylists and castings directors looking at models from every single agency in alphabetical order. It may sound crazy, but when you consider that Fashion Rio starts on January 8th, and we have Christmas and new year's holidays ahead of us, it is the only way to get all the work done quickly, and to also determine which models will get the most bookings and have their travel expenses paid by Fashion Rio.

View more pictures of the castings this past Saturday in São Paulo after the jump.

• Here is the twitter-themed Vogue Italia December cover everyone is talking about.
• Alessandra Ambrósio shares her top ten tips to bag a man by Christmas. Yet another reason to love her.
• Shear Genius will be back in February with Camila Alves as the new host and Orlando Pita as the new mentor.
• The official line up for the January fall shows in Rio has been released.
• Vik Muniz, Obra Completa 1987-2009, a catalog raisonné on the work of the artist featuring over 1,600 images, will be released on December 17 at Shopping Cidade Jardim in São Paulo.
• DJ Samantha Ronson will be spinning at Cine Veneza in Rio on December 18.
• Têtu has uploaded pictures of Rodrigo Calazans.
• Francisco Lachowsky by Massimo Pamparana.
• Beyoncé topped the nominations for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, with ten total nods, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year.  Also up for the top three categories are Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. Taylor Swift has eight nominations, followed by Kanye West, The Black Eyed Peas, and Maxwell, with six nominations each.
• Check out Blabbeando and Towleroad for coverage of last night's rally for marriage equality in New York. There is another rally scheduled for tonight in Union Square.

• Here is an exclusive shot of Jean Carlos and Shakira in Paris while shooting a story for the October issue of Vanity Fair.
• Karl Lagerfeld and Baptiste Giabiconi pay tribute to Helmut Newton in the new issue of Purple. (NSFW)
• Jesus Luz poses for an Italian underwear label.
• Lady Gaga does V Magazine (yes, again).
• Caroline Trentini got bangs.
• Isabeli Fontana shot the new Louis Vuitton cruise campaign in the Hamptons last week.
• Gisele, Alessandra Ambrósio, and Adriana Lima are up for fashion icon at the 2009 NCLR Alma Awards.
• Chris March is suing Thierry Mugler over Beyoncé's tour costumes.
• Rumor has it that Beyoncé will perform in Copacabana beach on New Year's Eve.
• São Paulo Fashion Week, Fashion Rio, and Rio Summer are now part of the same group.
• Bust a move: a list of the seventeen tracks from the upcoming Glee soundtrack.
• The NYT reviews Whitney Houston's comeback album I Look To You, which was released today.

Indira Carvalho may not have been the girl with the most bookings at the spring shows in Rio last week, but the new girl from Bahia is certainly the one everyone will remember. I would like to think that she was not cast for most of the big shows simply because of the new quota system in place at the Brazilian shows, but even if that was the case, then at least the quota system is serving its purpose of putting girls like her in the spotlight. I hope to see more of her on the runways in São Paulo later this week, and in some major editorial features come spring.

And in case you are wondering, the girl with the most bookings in Rio this season was Gracie Carvalho, with 25 shows. Lovanni Pinow came in second with 24, and Camila Mingori in third with 23.