Crocs Designers Are Dying To Know What You Think

Whaddaya know, but the Crocs designers seem to be fresh out of ideas to extend the shelf life of their hideous footwear, which has been rapidly fading from the national fad-consciousness since early 2008. They want your help. More »

Ungaro: Lindsay's Fashion Line "A Disaster"; Banana Republic Clerks Too Bouncy

• Lindsay Lohan's first collection for Ungaro has been derided by yet another industry heavyweight: Emanuel Ungaro himself. The designer, who sold the business that bears his name in 2005, says Lohan's work was "a disaster" that left him "furious." [Independent]

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Versace In Trouble; Kate Moss Fires Hairstylist

• Dana Thomas — author of Deluxe — wrote an excellent feature on the quagmire of the house of Versace. Thomas takes aim at Donatella and Santo Versace's resistance to change and ham-handed business decisions. It's a thrilling read. [Newsweek]

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Lindsay Lohan, Couturiere; People Are Angry At Ralph Lauren

• Lindsay Lohan, finally addressing her disastrously received first Ungaro collection, says, "I am learning." But she will be back in Paris for the next show! "It's already in January. I thought it was in March." January? January means couture.

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Soccer Star Undie Fight; Model Sues Guess? For Sexual Harassment

• Move over, David Beckham: Cristiano Ronaldo is posing in the spring Armani underwear campaign. [AP]
• Beckham, who says he decided not to renew his Armani contract, is said to be looking to launch an underwear line of his own. [WWD]

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Lohan's A "Living Doll" Says Ungaro CEO; Siriano Gets His Own Reality Show

• Ungaro's CEO says Lindsay Lohan was appointed creative director because, "Celebrities today attract lots of attention and having a moving, dancing, swinging, living doll is, we hope, going to bring down the age group at Ungaro while keeping the DNA."

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Tim Gunn Horrified By Unfashionable Footwear

Tim Gunn has voiced his distaste for the plastic-y clogs known as Crocs before, but last night he let Conan O'Brien know how he really feels. Put your hooves away, people!

Roisin Murphy Calls Lady Gaga "A Poor Imitation Of Me"; Katie Holmes Is Launching A Fashion Line

• We never thought of Lady Gaga's style as something one should actually seek to take credit for, but Roisin Murphy apparently feels differently. [Refinery29]

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Coming Soon: Team Sparklevamp Capitalism!

• Twilight clothing is happening — it's only surprising it took so long. The duds go on sale at Nordstrom in October. Selina Khan, on the right, looks like she just doesn't care about Edward or Jacob, bless her heart. [People]

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Stella Loves Critters; Diane Von Furstenberg Is A Swinger

• Stella McCartney's fall ad campaign makes a Bambijoke out of all that nature imagery that suddenly became hip over the past few years. For everyone who's ever considered an ironic taxidermy at a bar and concluded, "Why?" [WWD]

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Charlotte To Star In New Perfume Ad; Rihanna Nabs Italian Vogue?

• Nicolas Ghesquière picked the intolerably cool Charlotte Gainsbourg to advertise Balenciaga's perfume. Ghesquière calls his friend "one of the most inspiring girls in the world." Gainsbourg said, "I was secretly hoping to be the face of Nicolas' first perfume." [WWD]

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Estée Lauder Face Kept Beautiful With Eucerin; Two Supermodels Reportedly Sperminated

• Hilary Rhoda: Estée Lauder spokesmodel with a thing for drugstore makeup. A woman after our own hearts. [Daily Beast]
• In other news from model-land, Adriana Lima might be pregnant. [NYDN]
• Also said to be expecting: Gisele Bundchen. [NYDN]
• And sources say Kate Moss could be birthing a "novel." [Sun]

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Anna Wintour Is At War With Azzedine Alaïa, Kiefer Sutherland

• Says totally important designer Alaïa, whose designs Nuclear Wintour snubbed in the Met exhibit, "she behaves like a dictator and everyone is terrified of her...but I'm not scared of her or anyone." BURN! [WWD]

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Mario, No One's Saying You Can't Wear Them In The Kitchen

"All fashion blogs think these shoes are the ultimate problem. I wear (Crocs) because they're the most comfortable thing and I don't give a fuck about fashion. I like fashion on other people." [FWD]

Jay-Z-Owned Fragrance Company To Sell Scent Of A Mystery Female Artist

• The future will smell like Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West. (And, if I'm understanding "established female artist" correctly, Beyoncé.) [WWD]
• Kim Gordon hates it when you call some fashion thing "fierce." [The Cut]

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Marc Jacobs To Marry; Louis Vuitton Levels Its Sight On Google

• Fresh off his CFDA award women's wear nomination, Marc Jacobs is reportedly engaged to his Brazilian boyfriend of one year, Lorenzo Martone. Mazel tov to the happy couple! [WWD]

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Weeping Milan Model Gets No Sympathy From Jil Sander

• So, why was Lithuanian-born model Auguste Abeliunate crying on the Jil Sander runway? Was it Raf Simons' severe, Germanic threads? Sander's in denial: "No model was crying on the runway!" says a rep. [WSJ]

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Belly Shirts For American Dudes; dVb By Victoria Beckham Dropped

• Yes, it's fashion week, yes, there are better things to talk about, and yes, we'll get to them after the jump, but first: Toby Keith's clothing line debuted. It's worse than we thought. [TMZ]

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Michelle At Fashion Week; More Katie For Miu Miu

• There's the usual gloom, sex, scandal and, ahem, 50 Cent's makeup line - today, but first, brace yourselves: Michelle Obama has not RSVP'd to Fashion Week. This woman's priorities are way out of whack! [WWD]

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P. Diddy Is No Barack Obama

• Diddy likens himself to Obama. Speaking of his new fragrance, "I Am King," he declares, "When you see Barack Obama, you see a strong, elegant black man and when people see my ad, it's almost like that's the trend." [WSJ]
• "Mr. Obama sometimes wears jeans, as he did for a rally on Oct. 28, but his jeans are the loose, jingle-the-change-in-your-pocket type. He belts them at the waist, and when he wears them with white sneakers and a windbreaker, one could almost say he had stolen the look from Jerry Seinfeld’s character on the television series." — Cathy Horyn. [NY Times]
• Meanwhile, Donna Karan is rarin' to dress Michelle. “It’s not about her clothes, it’s really about who she is, and her passion for children, culture and wellness. I’m hoping to get to work with them — it would be my dream. They are so committed to ideals that are much in alignment with mine.” [WWD]

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Ewan McGregor Represents "The World's Great Wildness" Cologne

• Is no one safe from the lure of Designer Fragrance? Ewan McGregor is the face of Davidoff "Adventure." The cologne “explores uncharted fragrance territory. Its fresh spicy woody composition is daring and elemental, inspired by the world’s great wildernesses and raw, masculine emotion.” [BlackBook]
• Avril Lavigne's clothing line for Kohl's goes the way of Lauren Conrad...one way express to the bargain bin. [Perez Hilton]
• Teen Vogue launches book (presumably for teens) on getting into the fashion industry. "It's set to be a sort of archive of interviews with different people in fashion — designers, photographers, models, editors, etc. and meant to teach young Teen Vogue readers about what it takes to break into the industry." Seems like a cruel hoax. [Fashionista]

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Living Barbie Paris Hilton Premieres Line For Dollhouse

• Paris Hilton, aka the rich man's Heidi Montag, premieres her line for Dollhouse. "Some pieces, like the tees with her face plastered on them, are quintessentially Paris, and others are a bit more rock 'n roll like her sister Nicky." Huh? [FabSugar]
• Meanwhile, in the world of the equally inexplicable, Jessica Simpson announces a dress line. "I'm extremely excited to be expanding into the dress market," Simpson tells WWD. "I plan on creating beautiful dresses in distinctive fabrics and silhouettes that are reflective of my personal style and offer something special to the marketplace." [VogueUK]
• Perennial charmer Naomi Campbell on upstart "supermodels": "Models need to earn their stripes – I just think the term is used a little too loosely. Kate Moss is obviously a supermodel but, after Gisele, I don’t think there’s been one." [The Sun]
• Um, if we're asking the pope to throw off antiquated traditions, I'm not sure his fur cape should be our highest priority. [Times of India]

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John McCain: The Story Of Crocs Is The Story Of The American Economy

I like to give John McCain the benefit of the doubt when it's clear he's making a joke. (Like about how he stopped beating his wife.) So I want to defend this clip where he holds up the company Crocs as some paragon of American business innovation. I mean, on one hand, hahahaha: a company that owes its entire business to the groupthink of suburban teenagers subsidized by parents grown fat off home equity loans and decades of runaway corporate earnings growth afforded by the very ingenious business innovations that led Crocs to manufacture its wares in China (whose stock is currently at an all-time low)…why yes, that would be pretty apt symbol for the state of American business! But making a joke about GM would maybe be a little too poignant. Still, McCain's delivery is off, and he mumbles…it's a little embarrassing. But not as embarrassing as Malia Obama thinks her dad can be. That, Fox News, and some hilarious bra shopping stories, courtesy me and Megan after the jump. More »

Michael Jackson Is Doing A Fashion Line? Insert Glove Joke Here

• Wacko Jacko is teaming up with Ed Hardy designer Christian Audigier to launch a new line this fall. The apparently delusional Frenchman says, “It’s the merging of the King of Pop with the king of fashion. Something explosive is going to happen.” Kitson, for some reason, has committed to carrying the line exclusively. Like all Michael Jackson news, this is somehow deeply depressing. [People]
• Um, Michael's sister Janet is also doing a line, apparently. Starting with lingerie. Insert "wardrobe malfunction" joke here. Oh, wait, Perez Hilton already did. [Perez Hilton]
• A spotlight fell on the head of a male model walking in Tom Ford's Milan show. Insert...no, don't. [Fashionista]
• Nelson Mandela has personally banned serenity-challenged Naomi Campbell from the stage of his 90th birthday concert! Campbell was wearing a "46664" baseball cap at the time of her arrest (Mandela's prison number during his 27-year stint behind bars and the emblem of his current anti-AIDS initiative), which Mandela found "disappointing" given that he personally counseled her following her last brush with the law/cellphone/maid. [Daily Mail]

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Steven Tyler Has A Whole Croc Of Stylish Shit

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Vivica A. Fox Puts Her "Useful Styling Skills" To Work

• Vivica A. Fox is going to be the host of a new VH1 series called Glam God, in which the actress, who is known for her amazing style (??), will be searching for the next celebrity stylist. I can’t wait to see another reality show winner do absolutely nothing while everyone else on the show tries to one up Jerry Springer factor. I hope there’s a really good gay man or at least someone with a weave to yank on. [ConcreteLoop]
• Getting Gay With Bags is Here! Marc Jacobs completes his special handbag for twink-blogger Bryanboy (the bag is called “the BB”) and Bryanboy gets really excited and…whips himself? [Gawker]
• Designer Claudia Escobar has made a luxury clothing line out of salmon skin. "Many people who lived near rivers and oceans have used fish throughout history. It's not my original idea," she says. [Reuters]
• Mischa Barton’s created a line of handbags, coming to London’s John Lewis, Debenhams and Fenwicks stores on July 2nd. Why not make handbags for the United States, Mischa? Is the dollar too weak, or is it that we just don't give a shit? [FabSugar]

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Frances Bean Cobain: Modeling For Chanel?

• Frances Bean Cobain is rumored to be the next face of Chanel. That's hot. And also crazy. Oh, Karl. [Vogue UK]

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Heidi Klum Loves A Struggling Underclass In Uniform!

• "I go to the same Starbucks every day in Beverly Hills and they're like, 'Can you please tell them that we want to have new outfits?'...I sit in American Airlines, same thing. I get it all the time. Those chains or big companies, they always come to me." Imagine: the entire American service industry remade in the image of Heidi Klum! [Sassybella]

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Nina Garcia: Still Doesn't Know Whether She's In Or Out

• OK, so the latest on the soap opera-esque tale of Nina Garcia is that she's been offered the part-time title of Editor-at-Large by the peeps at ELLE because they want her to stay on-board because she made ELLE famous because of Project Runway and let's face it, print is dying anyway and needs all the free press it can get. Also, Nina won't be able to remain a judge on Project Runway unless she's still affiliated with ELLE. Follow? Yeah, we really don't either but we're sorta hoping Nina will say thanks-but-not-thanks and pen a tell-all instead. [WWD, 1st item]

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Tom Ford Wants To Take Barack Obama's Clothes Off

• "I think he's a great-looking guy but I think his suits don't fit him very well...I wouldn't say he's badly dressed, but he could sharpen up his look a little better." —Tom Ford on Barack Obama. [Vogue UK]

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Press-Shy Celebrity Stylist Rachel Zoe To Star In Reality Show

• Rachel Zoe is getting her own reality show on Bravo, set to air in either June or September of this year. The show promises to bring a much-needed behind-the-scenes glimpse of the secretive world of helping celebrities shop by following one of its most obscure-yet-fascinating practitioners as she goes about the...Ugh, please just end this writer's strike already. [Fashion Week Daily]

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What's worse than medi-Crocs? Fuzzy Crocs! Yes, Crocs are going "winter chic." The good news? They're cheaper than Uggs. The bad news? They're actually uglier. [Daily Mail]

The company behind Crocs is now marketing a new shoe targeted specifically at the medical community. The medi-Crocs are missing the signature holes normally found on surface of the shoe, thus avoiding the risk of a foot falling victim to a rogue, contaminated hypodermic needle or other medical implement. In other Crocs news, the footwear could be dangerous when mixed with escalators. A four-year old boy in northern Virginia reportedly lost a toenail when his Crocs were gobbled up by a sneaky escalator. Says the boy's mother, "I came home and typed in 'Croc' and 'escalator,' and all these stories came up. If I had known, those would never have been worn." Violet Affleck, consider yourself warned. [USA Today; CBS News]

Friends Of 'Vogue': Too Emaciated And Weak To Hand-Carry Their Own Copies?

• Would you like a limited-edition carrying case with your ninety-pound September Vogue? Yeah, sorry, you only get one of you're an "FOV" — which we think is sort of like being an "SOB." [The Fashion Informer]

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First Orange, Then Pink, Then Green. Now Violet Affleck Finally Has Crocs To Match Her Name

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Kate Moss's Daughter Lila 'Not' Wearing Crocs

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White House Dress Code Is A Total Croc

The Washington Post reports that the White House has taken to reminding everyone — tour groups, press, staffers — that proper attire is to be worn at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. An email outlined the rules: "No jeans, sneakers, shorts, miniskirts, T-shirts, tank tops and NO FLIP-FLOPS." One former aide remarked: "Do they have nothing else to do?" Good Point. A current aide spills, "When the Clintons came in, all hell broke loose" in terms of dress code. Which leaves us wondering... Is there a correlation between approval ratings and wardrobe leniency? For instance: No one likes a fascist, and they're totally into uniforms! On the other hand, saxophone-playing, free-wheeling Clinton got the job done and rocked jeans quite often. Maybe if W wore his Crocs inside more often he might have a chance at saving his 'legacy'. More »

Paris Hilton Must Be Stopped

• We are Nietzsche and God is dead: Paris Hilton's stint in jail saw her fragrance sales rise 30% higher than where they were at this time last year. [WWD, sub req'd]

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Louboutins? Marc Jacobs Jellies? Nah. It's All About Crocs!

OMG!!! Crocs, maker of comfy-anti-chic (yay for rebel style! fight the man!) clog-sandal hybrids (a clandal? a slog?) is expanding its brand and launching a full-out line of Crocs-branded footwear. With price-points ranging from $149 to $299 you've got to admire the way that Crocs wants consumers to drain their wallets in the name of slacker style. The top 5 reasons why we can't wait for the next in rubber shoes, after the jump. More »