Ready To Wear: To describe Anne Hathaway as the new Winona Ryder would be unfair

Oh, to be a muse, one might not unreasonably, well, muse, for want of a better word. But wait. As Donatella Versace once famously said when described as such in relation to her late brother, Gianni: "That is not very amusing." She knew, after all, that she was rather more than that, as time went on to tell.

And now, as the Vogue website announced last week: "Victoria Beckham may have been replaced in the affections of one of the men in her life. Fortunately it is not her husband David, but her friend and designer Marc Jacobs, who is on the look out for a new leading lady." Dumped!

In fact, given that La Beckham allowed herself to be placed in an oversized carrier bag, only matchstick legs akimbo on display for all to see for the aforementioned designer, it's safe to say that she is all too aware of the basically passive and not entirely emancipated nature of the role in question. Hence Ms Versace's vitriolic reaction to the moniker.

Now, though, both parties have moved on. Mr Jacobs, you see, has found another muse – the actress Anne Hathaway. To describe Hathaway as the new Winona Ryder would be unfair to both parties, but let's do it anyway. Particularly following her role as Kym - the kooky, straight-our-of-rehab all-American car crash (no pun intended) in Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married – the comparison is impossible to resist. Then there's the way she looks: alabaster skinned, doe-eyed, dark-haired and with a mischievous cupid-bow pout... Remind you of anyone?

Anyway, Jacobs has always loved Winona. She wore his clothes to court during the great (really great) shoplifting debacle of 2002 in return. According to a source speaking to the Mail on Sunday, now "Marc and Anne have forged a fast but very intense friendship. They're going to start doing public appearances together soon." There's no official lucrative ad campaign in the running as yet, apparently, but she has committed to being seen out and about in his clothes. Well, you would, wouldn't you?

This is not a lady likely to put all of her eggs – and rest assured there are many – into one basket, however. Only last month, Hathaway introduced the recently-retired Roman couturier Valentino Garavani when he picked up the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style award in Los Angeles. "I knew it would be a great challenge to be perfect in Valentino for Valentino," she said. "At my first fitting, I put the dress on backwards. Luckily there were strategically placed sequins." Hmmm.

"Because of his friendship and his influence on me, I am a Valentino creation," the actress concluded, proving herself to be every bit the muse.