Bill Cunningham Gets The Portrait He Deserves

Tom Scocca wrote a glowing review of Bill Cunningham New York, the documentary about the legendary New York Times street style photographer, which was just released in the U.S.: “Cunningham’s work falls in the territory where fashion becomes clothing, or vice versa. The fashion industry itself prefers to obfuscate how this works, how the decisions of designers, prepared seasons in advance, correspond somehow to the collective desires of the public to choose put on a particular style in the moment. Cunningham blows away the smoke and mist, asking only, what do I see people wearing now?…The theory of Bill Cunningham is democratic and objective; the practice is autocratic and subjective. That is: he’s a journalist, a real one. He imposes his sensibility on the world with severe neutrality.” [Capital New York]
The film is outstanding. Here is a clip to tide you over until you go see it. [T]

James Franco gets a cover, a multi-page editorial spread, and 5,000 words devoted to his various excellences in the new issue of GQ Style, GQ UK’s semiannual fashion supplement. [WWD]

Jean Baptiste Mondino shot Mia Wasikowska — one of the Kids who is All Right — in a white face mask for the cover of W. [DS]

Karl Lagerfeld did some lovely fashion illustrations for a new edition of Justine Picardie’s biography of Coco Chanel. [WWD]

• Azzedine Alaïa says that the demands placed on fashion designers are “inhumane.” Come again? “”It’s too much: Too many collections, too much pressure.” [WWD]
• Holmes & Yang, Katie Holmes‘ clothing line with stylist Jeanne Yang, is releasing two bags in collaboration with Valextra. They will retail for an astonishing $3,950. [WWD]
• Do brands mind when stars get photographed wearing their clothes in less-than-flattering situations — like, say, to a court date in a shoplifting case? Let’s hop in our time machine and ask Marc Jacobs and Winona Ryder! Or, since Lindsay Lohan wore a $2,200 Judith Ripka diamond necklace to court, and since the Times wrote this trend piece about “stars” and their “courtroom dressing,” let’s feign ignorance and just ask Ben Ripka: “We cannot control what our customers choose to do with our jewelry. But the media attention has been great, as many more people have been exposed to this piece.” [NYTimes]
• Eva Mendes is set to replace Naomi Watts as the face of Thierry Mugler’s Angel perfume. Her first ads will hit magazines in September. [WWD]
• Susan Tabak and Brian Atwood are Tweeting rumors they’ve heard about Riccardo Tisci. Tabak: “Sources tell me as Riccardo Tisci moves to Dior—his pr staff goes along too. And now I hear Givenchy Haute Couture—finito.” Atwood: “So I hear it’s confirmed that Tisci is headed to Dior. Possibly with a mutual friend. Wonder when it will be announced.” Carine Roitfeld? [Fashionologie]
• Matthew Williamson has nobly nominated himself for the position of Designer Who Will Not Dress Kate Middleton on her Wedding Day. It’s kind of like that time our friend Connie decided to be last in the Fourth Form cross country, because to someone who cared about the school cross country, coming in last would be a real blow, and Connie decided she did not care, so she took that one on the chin. It’s kind of like that, only a bit meaner. Williamson insists that dressing Kate Middleton isn’t his “thing.” Why not? “Kate isn’t a fashion bunny,” he says. “I don’t know why everyone in fashion is waiting to see what she wears. I’m, like, thinking: get over it.” [Telegraph]
• NBC is filming yet another fashion-themed reality television show. From the casting notice, it seems like it might as well be called Roject Prunway. [The Cut]
• Elle editor Joe Zee: “When I really first started interning in this industry, I worked with people that were horrible, absolutely horrible. I thought, when I become a boss, I’m never going to be that person where people are going to work for me out of fear. I’ll roll up my sleeves and pick up a trunk, and I’ll roll it down the hall with my assistant.” [NYTimes]
• H&M‘s response to the natural disaster and the nuclear crisis in Japan is erring pretty extremely on the caution side: The Swedish-owned chain is temporarily closing all of its stores in the Tokyo area, and relocating its Japanese corporate headquarters from Tokyo to Osaka. [WWD]
• Olivier Zahm‘s ode to Carine Roitfeld, titled Irreverent, now has a publication date: October of this year. [Fashion Copious]
• The nominations for this year’s Council of Fashion Designers of America awards are in! For Womenswear Designer of the Year: Alexander Wang, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler and Marc Jacobs. Menswear Designer of the Year: Michael Bastian, Patrik Ervell and Simon Spurr. Accessory Designer of the Year: Reed Krakoff, Alexander Wang and Proenza Schouler. Then there are the Swarovski Awards, which are for up-and-coming talent. Women’s wear Swarovski: Joseph Altuzarra, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen and Prabal Gurung. Men’s wear Swarovski: Alexander Wang, Philip Lim and Robert Geller. Accessory design Swarovski: Alejandro Ingelmo, Eddie Borgo, Jason Wu and Pamela Love. Oh, and someone called Lady Gaga will be getting the “Fashion Icon” award. [WWD]
• Whitney Port filmed some videos of “prom styling tips” for Claire’s. [WWD]
• In other random partnerships, Giorgio Armani sponsors a professional basketball team in Milan. [WWD]
• In 2010, the total number of counterfeit goods seizures orchestrated by U.S. authorities grew by 34%, to 19,959, but the value of the goods intercepted fell by 27%, to $188.1 million. Footwear was the biggest single category seized. [WWD]
• A 17-year-old boy from Thaxted, Essex, was working in a fish & chip shop (just like Laura Hollins!) when he was “discovered” by a modeling agent and sent to Milan to walk for Prada. [Sun]
• Oh, “Paul and Andre’s,” that’s very clever, isn’t it. [WWD]
• TowerBrook Partners, which is the majority owner of Jimmy Choo, has been shopping the company around for potential sale to another investor — or for an initial public offering. Now there’s a rumor that Jimmy Choo, the footwear designer who launched the company with Tamara Mellon and then got forced out and had to accept a $30 million buy-out from her (within a couple years, the company would be valued at over ten times that sum), has enlisted an investment bank as an adviser, and may be in talks with TowerBrook. There have been unsourced reports in the French press that Jimmy Choo (the brand) may have drawn the interest of a consortium of Chinese investors, who may want to work with Jimmy Choo (the individual). If TowerBrook sold the company under those circumstances, it would be a huge fuck you to Mellon, basically. [WWD]