Street-Style Photographers Are Making Serious Bank

Move over, paparazzi: street-style chroniclers can now command up to $1,000 for choice shots. But don’t get too excited: we’re talking the “Bloggers Walk” at Paris Fashion Week — and apparently these require pap-level aggression and commitment. In other words, more than a casual interest and a digital cam. [Fashionologie]

• Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani says fashion’s role in encouraging unhealthy body-image has been seriously exaggerated: it’s the bloggers, stupid! Blogs the Mermaid-tressed doyenne,
• Models, as I have underlined before, are in most cases naturally long, lean and slender being still very young and still not fully developed. The image they convey, however, is often that of an excessive thinness, but designers themselves discard those who are visibly suffering from nutritional problems. This is a topic that has been often discussed with false prejudice against fashion when nobody was left to blame…The results showed that the more time girls spend on Facebook, the more they suffered conditions of bulimia, anorexia, physical dissatisfaction, negative physical self-image, negative approach to eating and more of an urge to be on a weight-loss diet. Extensive online exposure to fashion and music content showed similar tendencies, but manifested in fewer types of eating disorders. As such, the more the exposure to fashion content on the Internet, the higher a girl’s chances of developing anorexia.
• Leaving aside the fact that Sozzani is writing this on the ‘net, it seems to be a question of serious hair-splitting: the bottom-line issue is still unrealistic expectations perpetuated by all media. None of this is in a vacuum. [Via WWD]
• She also encouraged readers to sign a petition banning pro-ana websites. Never a bad thing — although it may take more than that. [WWD]
• Judy Collins, former women’s merchant at Barneys, has been named executive director of women’s apparel for Anthropologie — doubtless trying to bolster flagging numbers. [WWD]
• Says Joe Wright of directing Keira Knightley for Chanel, “I think Keira has taken control of her own image. What we tried to do was turn it round, so that it begins as a story about the male gaze, but becomes about the female gaze. The idea is the artifice of projected sexuality.” In other words, she’s in skintight leather. [VogueUK]
• Hedi Slimane (who creepily refers to model-scouting as “boy safari“) remains cagey about his oft-discussed return to design, but there’s one powerful incentive: as he tells an interviewer, “That’s why maybe I have to start designing again. ‘Cos I have not so much to wear any more.” [Guardian]
• As if the swarms of street-style bloggers converging on Austin weren’t proof enough, Southby is now officially a fashion destination. Reports Fashionista, “With tons of designer showcases and a runway show chock-full of SXSW musicians-turned-models, Style X is certainly living up to its reputation as the first event bridging the gap between fashion and music, with a sharp focus on emerging talent.” Wait, “Fashion Rocks” didn’t count? [Fashionista]
• The Yohji Yamamoto show at the V&A looks amazing, and thanks to the wonders of technology, we can see much of it online! [Style Bubble]
• “Mark Zuckerberg’s typical attire – the baggy jeans, T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts – has come to symbolize success for a new generation of would-be billionaires.” The ultimate conversation-ender for every mother urging her son to put on a tie for the Seder. [NY Times]
• Sammi Sweetheart Giancola is, obviously, hawking jewelry. Most of it’s heart-shaped, because she’s a romantic you see. [Fashionista]
• On Saturday, Katie Holmes premiered her Fall 2011 Holmes & Yang collection at Barneys in Beverly Hills. They appear to be clean-lined and classic. [PopSugar]
• Check out this Blond Ambition-inspired shoe from designer Kobi Levi. No, seriously. [MTV]
• Twee? Yes. But Olympia Le-Tan’s book-themed bag collection is pretty damn adorable. [Style Bubble]
• The flatform is not going anywhere, people. [Elle]