• "I've thought about clothing and jewelry lines," says Usher. "But fragrance stays on when everything else comes off." [People]
• Bottom of the barrel? For $8, American Apparel will sell you a bag of fabric scraps. [BF]

• Elle Creative Director Joe Zee dined with R.J. Cutler, the director of The September Issue. Which obviously means that he's going to spend two more years making a movie about Elle now! [FWD]
• Says lost soul Ashley Olsen, in fashion, "everyone is just really looking out for themselves. I don't know if I'll be designing this collection forever. A couple of years from now, I'm sure I'll want to do something else, and I'm not going to shy away from that. What if I just want to be an artist, or if I want to go back to acting? Which is not in the cards, but what if I wanted to do that?" [Daily Express]
• An Hermès representative says the rumors that creative director Jean Paul Gaultier is going to leave the company are false. Gaultier has been in his position for six years, and Hermès has experienced continued strong sales from its luxury categories since the start of the recession. [FashionMag]
• Christian Blanckaert, Hermès' director of international affairs, is leaving the company in early September. Blanckaert will become the non-executive chairman of the French children's clothing line Petit Bateau, and is expected to pursue a more international strategy for the brand. [WWD]
• Meanwhile, some anonymous sources in the finance industry are saying that Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy may spin off DKNY, the Donna Karan diffusion label it has owned since 2001. Or that it may sell Moët Hennessy itself, where revenues fell 17% in the first half of 2009. The reason the luxury conglomerate supposedly wants to free up some cash? To make a bid for Hermès, which is trading well below its usual share price. [Fashionista]
  
• Conservative party supporter Anya Hindmarch: "I started my business when I was 18, and I realized the difference it made having Thatcher in power. It was the start of privatization-there was a feeling of ‘Get out there, get going, be an entrepreneur.' I've seen what politics can do to make a difference. It really inspires me and that's why I've been passionate about it." [VF]
• Lara Stone is set to curate the choices available at Not Just A Label's online shop, a home for avant-garde and emerging designers. Lara's choices go on sale on September 2. [UK Elle]
• Uniqlo has a licensing deal with Disney that'll allow it to roll out Disney-themed apparel starting next month. Which should mean the mouse products will hit stores around the same time as Jil Sander's long-awaited first collection for the retailer. [WWD]
• Jean-Charles de Castelbajac is launching a diffusion line called JC/DC. The line will be presented in London and again in Paris at the upcoming shows, and the company wants real-life hepcats to model its wares — anyone who wants to apply for a spot in the runway lineup can do so via the websites of Dazed & Confused or Jalouse magazine, respectively. [WWD]
• Someone named Bronson van Wyck is obsessed with "The Penguin Sparkling Water Maker from Williams-Sonoma. The penguin makes the water fizzy. You can adjust from superfizzy like Perrier to moderate like S. Pellegrino to milder like Hendon." Socials! They're not like us at all. [WWD]
• Vogue Brasil mis-spelled photographer Guy Bourdin's name as "Guy Bourdain" in huge font on its cover. [MadeinBrazil]
• Rosemary Port, the writer behind the infamous "Skanks In NYC" hate-blog against model Liskula Cohen, says that she will continue her $15 million lawsuit against Google for disclosing her e-mail address and IP to Cohen. Even though Google only disclosed those details after losing its long legal battle and being ordered to so by a Manhattan supreme court judge! Port feels her right to privacy has been violated, and alleges of Cohen, "By going to the press, she defamed herself." Her lawyer had this to say: "I'm ready to take this all the way to the Supreme Court. Our Founding Fathers wrote 'The Federalist Papers' under pseudonyms. Inherent in the First Amendment is the right to speak anonymously. Shouldn't that right extend to the new public square of the Internet?" Which, if you think about it, is an airtight argument. Doesn't anyone else remember reading that long footnote in the Federalist Papers where James Madison goes on and on about how Brutus is, like, such a ho? And then of course next month Robert Yates was all like, Nuh uh, you're a big fat skank, Publius, and everyone knows it! Whatever, Rosemary Port. Defamation isn't traditionally considered protected speech. [NYDN]
• Louis Vuitton has won a $400,000 judgment against Bonini Handbags for trademark infringement. [WWD]
• Derek Blasberg watched The Rachel Zoe Project in Los Angeles, with Rachel Zoe. "Watching the actual show and having an alternate show happening in front of me was surreal. And kind of confusing. There was Brad on TV wearing a Missoni sequined shift dress impersonating his boss, and then there, in the flesh, was Brad trying on a Louis Vuitton tennis skirt and booties impersonating his boss. Taylor was on TV moaning, and there she was in person moaning." [StyleFile]
• Casual Male, a U.S. maker of men's plus-size clothing, has seen its quarterly profits increase by 92.1% on last year, even as sales fell 13.4%. [WWD]

• House of Style is coming back on MTV! Israeli model Bar Refaeli or L.A.'s own Chanel Iman are rumored to be in the running to fill Cindy Crawford's old hosting slot. [Page Six]

• Isaac Mizrahi's first collection for Liz Claiborne just went online, in an annoying Flash animation you have to flick through with your mouse. No pricing info is included, but the line will be in stores and online next month. [Liz Claiborne]
• That Brooks Brothers Black Fleece store on Bleecker St. that's been "opening in Fall 08" for freaking ever is finally throwing wide its doors today. [WWD]
• Stella McCartney opened a new boutique in Paris, her first in that city. Old friends like Marianne Faithful and Catherine Deneuve duly turned up. On staying slim with Madonna's trainer, McCartney said, "I've had a few sessions with her, but she's always off on tour with Madonna, so now I just go round to Gwyneth's and we dance about together." Fun. [Style.com]
• If you can't share a personal trainer with Madge, you can see an exhibition of her stage costumes. "Simply Madonna, Materials of the Girl" opens in London on February 21. [Independent]
• Pierre Bergé, Yves Saint Laurent's business and romantic partner of 50 years, is talking to the media for the first time about the designer's struggles with depression. A shy, nervous young man, Saint Laurent was conscripted into France's war with Algeria in 1960, where he was brutalized. Upon his return to France, he was committed and given shock treatments and high doses of drugs. Says Bergé: "Sadly, Yves was not built for joy. He was an unhappy person who didn’t have a taste for life. Occasionally, he was happy, but life was difficult for him. The depression ran deep." On his aesthetic, Bergé notes: "Saint Laurent detested fashion. Style is what he liked...Chanel may have given women liberty but Saint Laurent gave them power." [Telegraph]
• Interesting: Bloomingdale's is holding an open call for new designers. That's gotta be better than Project Runway! [WWD]
• Dazed and Confused shot a black-lit video to celebrate DKNY's 20th anniversary. It maybe looks a little like Liquid Sky. [Fashionista]
• For the DKNY Jeans spring campaign, Sartorialist Scott Schuman shot British model Daisy Lowe. [The Sun]
• Today's bankruptcy: Unthinkable, Inc., owner of the label Claude Brown. Owing between $1 and $100 million, with between $100,000 and $1 million on its books, Unthinkable filed for Chapter 11 protection from 50 creditors. [Crain's]
• Imagine an event that would bring together Ivanka Trump, Philip Lim, Tory Burch, and Barbara Hulanicki (who founded the Biba boutique in London where Anna Wintour got her first fashion job), and you have the Fashion Group International's Rising Star awards. Lim gushes all over Hulanicki, who gushes all over Lim, and meanwhile none of the MCs can pronounce "Burch" or "Ivanka." Must've been a hell of a luncheon. [Observer]
• McQ Alexander McQueen for Target's campaign will be modeled by a creepy blonde doll with eyes that change color. What, they couldn't get a Russian to put in contacts? [Fashionista]
• Karl Lagerfeld, compelling, chilly fashion mastermind, is the subject of an excellent Rodolphe Marconi documentary called Lagerfeld Confidential. We get a peek at the Kaiser's home, Nietzchean morality, and lecherous habits with male models. Also, I'm pretty sure I remember at one point he says, "People who live alone and spend a long time on the telephone are romantic freelancers." It screens February 9 on Sundance and you should watch it. [Fashion Week Daily]
• If you give supermodel Angela Lindvall directions on a shoot like "Crawl around like an animal! Rrowr!", she will raise one eyebrow at your dumb concept and do something better instead. [The Cut]
• Jean Paul Gaultier model Ines de la Fressange: 51, gorgeous, and dubious about black nail polish. "I like the fact that [Gaultier] didn't try to disguise me or make fun of me in some way, by making me wear black nail polish like the other models." How does she stay in shape? "Winston Churchill always said the best exercise is no exercise so let me put it this way; I do as much exercise as Churchill! And I never do Botox or plastic surgery either." She sounds like a riot in this interview. [Time]
• Then, de la Fressange found time to go to the Elysée Palace and congratulate Sonia Rykiel and Jean-Louis Scherrer at the formal ceremony where President Sarkozy made each of them commanders of the Legion of Honor. [WWD]
• Ever wanted to learn how to make shoes? Jimmy Choo wants to teach you. [Telegraph]
• Natascha McElhone, of Californication fame, will be the new face of Neutrogena. [WWD]
• There WILL be Steven Allan for Uniqlo! [WWD]
• Plan for a Gisele-heavy future. The Brazilian beauty has bagged spring campaigns for, at last count: Versace, Dior, True Religion denim, and Rampage. Oh, and she'll totally be the North American face of Max Factor for years to come. Resistance is futile! Clearly being a safe bet as one of the few models the proverbial man on the street could immediately recognize has its ups in an economic climate like this. [WWD]

• Word is, Mrs. Ryan Reynolds née maybe-alien Scarlett Johansson will be fronting Dolce and Gabbana's latest campaign. For what? Um, no one knows. [Style.com]

• Carolina Herrera: "There's no need to be ashamed of trying to keep looking good. I even tell my doorman when I've been to have a little filler injected." Not that he asked. [Independent]
• Oh dear. Is the head of L'Oreal being manipulated by a gigolo? Her daughter says yes. But then, we've heard that before... [Independent]
• Designer Gai Mattiolo is not really feeling his house arrest for fraud. Says one friend, "creative geniuses are often naive about business." Besides the genius part, us too! [UPI]
• Helena Christensen: “I’m not really into exercising, to be quite honest, but I realize that you have to do something to stay in shape, so I box. I’ve boxed for almost two and a half years.” If you take out the boxing part, us too! [NY Mag]
• Zac Posen: do not tease us with these promises of "lower priced collections" if you cannot deliver! [Fashion Week Daily]
• Speaking of fast fashion, H&M took a November hit. [WSJ]
• And. Fast fashion has meant a drop in the quality of thrift shop clothes. [Times of London]
• Coco Rocha unveils mannequin of herself; it doesn't look that much like her when she stands right next to it. [ElleUK]
• Women's Professional Soccer's teamed up with Puma. [WSJ]
• D&G, for their part, are outfitting the Giro d'Italia bike race. [VogueUk>]
• Daisy Lowe to be in annoying-sounding DKNY ad with Sean Lennon and Kelly Osborne's boyfriend, shot by The Sartorialist. [ElleUK]
• Speaking of slash/slash types! The Sisters Miller (Sienna and Savannah) will be showing their first Twenty8Twelve fashion show come Feb! [Grazia]
• YSL paper dolls. As close as many of us will come! Also: more fun. [Fashionista]
• Speaking of YSL! The company's making a generous donation to the United Nations Development Fund for Women. [WWD]

• Wanna see Posh's designs, complete with lampshades and elephant-trunk headpieces? Check out the new commercial for her fashion line. [Fashionista]
• "The video sees various models taking inspiration from Posh’s own ads for Marc Jacobs last season by hiding themselves all over a large mansion – behind drawers, in carrier bags, hanging behind doors, turning themselves into lamp shades and transforming themselves into an elephant." [Sassybella]
• Says Posh: “Being in the Spice Girls, fashion-wise probably didn't open any doors. If anything it shut doors and I've had to bang them down.” [Times Online]
• A New York bridal shop is knocking off the Vivienne Westwood wedding gown in which Carrie Bradshaw was jilted. [New York Post]

• Notify jeans classifies butts into three categories. [Guanabee]
• Apparently Katie Holmes is surrounded by a whole gaggle of other moddles for her ballyhooed Miu Miu campaign. [New York]
• Uniqlo beats the odds, is up 32%. [WWD]
• This, we like: Kate Moss is teaming up with Liberty to use their classic floral prints in her next Top Shop collection. [WWD]
• "Liberty are already working with Topshop on a lingerie collaboration, which launched in stores yesterday, though exactly how Moss will use the London store's iconic prints is still under wraps." [ElleUK]
• Michelle Obama's Vogue cover's not a sure thing. Neither, apparently is Anna Wintour's job! [New York]
• Meanwhile, Michelle continues to boost young designers: the latest beneficiary is Jason Wu. [WSJ]
• Oh noes! J. Crew and Bloomies knocked out on a prime shopping day by website malfunctions. [Crains]
• So why is the entire payroll of NBC in this batch of holiday Gap ads? [Jossip]
• Luxury luggage gets extra-ridiculous to woo reluctant jet-setters. [IHT]
• Zara's founder is funding alternative energy solutions in Spain. [Business Week]
• Pre-fall collection peeks for Versace, DKNY, Alexander Wang, Armani, Missoni! [WWD]
• Supermodel Miranda Kerr has been replaced as the face of Australia's oldest department store. [AdAge]
• The “2009 Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide" is a cheat-sheet to apparel made under ethical conditions. [WWD]
• Helena Christensen's line for Pilgrim jewelry is "typically, ethnically-inspired and feminine, in both delicate orchid-pastels and strong, spicy colours, priced between £10 and £100." [Telegraph]
• Victoria's Secret tries to go higher-end with a new flagship, "a level of elegance that casts the flirty and frilly lingerie and romantic beauty products in a softer, luxurious light." [WWD]

• In case Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle blog, Goop, wasn't quite irritating enough, now she brings us a breakdown of how to get her look. Apparently Roger Vivier bangles help. And don't think that one Uniqlo skirt fools anyone, Gwynnie; we've been wise to those tricks since Lucky hit newsstands! [Racked]
• Fashionologie claims it's "always a treat" to hear Kate Moss talk. We respectfully disagree. Draw yout own conclusions from this video of her "designing." [Fashionologie]
• Here are La Moss's "10 Style Rules": one of them's "Make It Look Effortless." Another is, "When In Doubt, Buy Diamonds." Oh, okay! Maybe this is Gwyneth's secret? [The Guardian]
• Karl Lagerfeld is now a proper noun in Le Petit Larousse Illustré. He also designed the cover. [WWD]

• Anya Hindmarch for Target sells out in 2 minutes! [VogueUK]
• PR's Jerrell comes off as a class act. "Who wants drama? That's not what we're there for. This isn't I Love New York; we're not sitting in a hot tub getting drunk. We're here to show the world what we do." [EW]
• Elle teams with Stardoll to make a tween/teen virtual mag. Kids can dress avatars in "high end virtual couture (such as apparel from DKNY). Users can also play virtual dress up with celebrity avatars such as Paris Hilton or Katie Holmes." I'm still holding out for a virtual thrift store! [Media Week]
• Recessions make strange bedfellows: Ann Taylor teams up with Proctor and Gamble to promote cleaning products that cut down on dry-cleaning. [NY Times]
• Zara succeeds by making fashion faster — and paying workers better. [Business Week]
• Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor launches a fashion web site. [UPI]
• We can't really improve upon Mollygood's description of Stylista, the new Devil Wears Prada reality ripoff: "Incompetent people who have no business being involved in the fashion industry? Check. Frightening dictator (fashion news director Anne Slowey)? Check. Inane tasks that have seemingly nothing to do with fashion? Check. The difference: We wanted Anne Hathaway to succeed in the movie; in the reality TV version, we kind of hope everyone fails miserably." [Mollygood]
• Mary McFadden: "When people look back at this period in our civilization, they'll say: This was the beginning of functional clothes ... I'm sorry, in a way people's lifestyles have become very utilitarian." Well, that explains sparkly leggings! [BlackBook]
• Not shockingly, discounters keeping their heads above retailers'. Does anyone else think those TJ Maxx ads where they explain how they keep their prices so low are completely genius? [NY Times]
• And, yes, LVMH is finally feeling the pinch. [WSJ]
• Louis Vuitton keeping them afloat. [WWD]
• That said, Armani is still really confident about opening shop in India. [Hindustan Times]
• Liz Hurley's Versace safety-pin dress has been named "The Greatest Red Carpet Gown of All Time." "Greatest" is apparently open to interpretation. [Mirror]
• Pixie Geldof takes on human trafficking. Via a tee shirt, obvs! [ElleUK]
• Ethical knitwear label Izzy Lane has won the RSPCA Good Business Award for its sheep-friendly practices. [Guardian]
• Leona Lewis snubs Harrods because of their continuing sales of fur. [Peta2]
• Someone's plastering Rachel Zoe's face all over New York. [Fashionista]
• Taylor Momsen's first modeling shots! Based on our newfound Top Model expertise, we'd say Little J is still looking for her signature pose. [Fabsugar]
• Balenciaga launches new frangrance, hopes to "renew Balenciaga's image as a serious fragrance contender." [ElleUK]

(Click on any image to begin gallery)

(Click on any image to begin gallery)

• Poor Rachel Zoe! "I thought: I've done blood, sweat and tears for 15 years — why am I the victim here? I have had the nastiest things said about me! I don't understand." [NY Post]
• Shockingly, the CFDA's "Health Booth" (which educates fashionistas about eating) is deserted. [NY Mag]
• You already knew Sean Lennon was an ass: Spotted at Fashion Week, the modelizer "wore a magisterial women's coat with gold buttons and a top hat decorated with Native American bands. His girlfriend, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, wore a coyote headdress." [NY Mag]
• Justin Timberlake brings pissy back at his William Rast show. [WWD]
• Punk legend Malcolm McLaren accuses son and Agent Provocateur founder Joe Corre of counterfeiting punk duds. "I think my son actually used – maybe – the original labels, because we didn't use them all up...There'd be a roll of ribbon around in the workroom and maybe my son got a hold of those. I think he did this before he set up Agent Provocateur. Or in order to set up Agent Provocateur and fund it, he made a number of these fake clothes and sold them to dealers in Japan." [Independent]

• Speaking of Agent Provocateur: there's a new ad campaign! "Chanelling the gothic decadence of Hogarth, Caravaggio, Rubens and Delaroche’s Execution of Lady Jane Grey, it is a seething orgiastic scene of girls on top, girls on girls and boys and beasts. Peaches (Geldof) and Daisy Lowe, the bad girls du jour, both star, as does the flame-haired American actress Paz de la Huerta, who holds court over a sacrifice of a topless virgin, accompanied by two male cohorts — David Bailey’s Byronesque son, Fenton, and a 21-year-old albino boy named Alex." [Times of London]
• Intrepid fashionistas weather the storm at Fashion Week; Tory Burch even went barefoot! [NY Mag]
• Um, ex-squeeze us? Lifetime, the Project Runway-stealer, is delaying the premiere of the show's sixth season until January 2009. Resentment mounting. [Yahoo]
• Are we the only ones who are totally sick of hockey player/budding fashionista Sean Avery? Now he's decorated some booth at hot spot Beatrice Inn with sunflowers. [Style.com]
• Apparently lacking creativity, designers start predicting trends via computer programs. [NY Times]
• Knockoff jeans even bigger than knockoff bags! [UPI]
• The political tee market is also booming. Yes, Obama's outselling Mac. [NPR]
• The Mulleavy sisters keep their Rodarte label personal and awesome. "In 2005, to introduce themselves to the fashion world, the Mulleavy sisters sent out 30 handmade paper dolls, each with a paper armoire containing seven paper dresses. 'I was inspired by Zelda Fitzgerald’s paper dolls,' explains Kate, who, like Fitzgerald, drew extensively accessorized wardrobes." [NY Times]
• Dolce and Gabbana take their inspiration from Queen Elizabeth: "In place of riotous floral and animal prints, hour-glass corsetry and itsy-bitsy skirts came Argyle knits, oversized kilts that fall to mid-calf, printed silk headscarves and sensible footwear." We are not amused. [The Independent]
• Almost all the shoes we wear are imported, "yet the U.S. still imposes a tax on imported shoes that can reach as high as 67%." [WSJ]
• More PR for Ivory Coast fashion, as Patricia De Medeiros reinvents traditional motifs in her line, Tradition Mode. [Reuters]
• Pat Field's collaboration with British frump-monger Marks and Spencer is a gamble. [Independent]
• Iconic model Veruschka releases coffee table tome: “'I can’t say that I have any favorite photographs,' she said. 'Though I do have some favorite memories of the days they were taken. Working with Avedon, for example, was always a joy. But then it was all joy because that was a joyous time.'” [Style.com]
• Scandal-plagued model Jodie Kidd comes by it naturally: her grandfather tried to bribe Winston Churchill. [This Is London]
• PETA crashes DKNY, does nothing. [NY Mag]
• Following a lackluster start, Halston feels the heat. [WSJ]
• YSL has reformulated (we're guessing this means butch packaging) its Touche Eclat concealer for the metrosexual set. Zac Efron rejoices! [Telegraph]
• The fashionistas heave a sigh of relief that both potential first ladies dig clothes. [Reuters]
• DKNY, CK, battle it out at their runway shows for "most New York" designer. Doesn't Karan automatically win by having "New York" in her name? [Guardian]
• Struggling to define itself, Old Navy shops ad agencies. Remember how cool it was when it opened? Can't they just rehire whoever did that? [AdWeek]

• The Man is cashing in on National Underwear Day, this ridiculous thing they do in Times Square every year with people running around in undies. This year, those wags will be competing with the pros: "Diesel, Natori, Nautica, Tommy Hilfiger and 2Xist underwear brands will have hotties strutting in their skivvies in a runway show at Espace on Aug. 5. "Lydia Hearst [Who models for Myla - ed] be 10 runway shows."" [Page Six]
• Speaking of unmentionables, Sadie Frost (aka Jude's ex)'s skivvies co, Frost-French, has gone bust to the tune of owing a ton of money. Sources say the actress is devastated. [Mirror]
• Gwyneth Paltrow is teaming up with Saks Fifth Avenue to front its Key to the Cure campaign, a women's cancer initiative. Mrs. Martin will appear in promos and, presumably, sport the tee that Karl Lagerfeld designed for the occasion. [UPI]
• Also in celeb endorsements, apparently Solange Knowles is the new face of Armani Jeans. Quoth Girogio, “Armani Jeans expresses my vision of a young, independent, casual lifestyle with a strong and cool, fashion sensibility. Solange epitomises this style perfectly and brings to it that swing so evident in her new single, I Decided." [Sassybella]

• Diane Von Furstenberg was unanimously reelected head of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. In the past year the CFDA has been active in promoting awareness of health issues in the industry. [WWD]
• Molly Ringwald: "I never thought of myself as an icon...my style was from necessity; my parents kept me on on allowance." [Star Tribune]
• Agyness Deyn is living the American dream, with an apt. in hipster-central Williamsburg, Brooklyn and a brand-new Yank PA. "The girl is responsible for keeping track of Agyness' schedule, travel plans, and general well being, which sounds like the easiest job in the world, since while it's true she's one of the busiest working models right now, she's also one of the nicest and most easygoing that we've ever met." [Fashionista]
• An enormous pair of Queen Victoria's bloomers, dating from the 1890s, just sold at auction for nine grand. Auctioneer Charles Hanson described the 50-inch knickers as belonging to '"a very big lady of quite small stature with a very wide girth." She was said to be 5 feet (1.52 meters) tall.' [AP]
• That woven dress that so wowed Natalie Portman on the second episode of Project Runway? Already sold out on Bluefly. Suede, obviously, released a statement. “I was so excited about this challenge and really wanted to win. Selling my dress on Bluefly is the opportunity of a lifetime. I knew I had to pull out all of the stops to impress this client and especially celebrity judge Natalie Portman, and Suede, "ROCKED IT!" And, now to see the customers responding to my "winning look" like this what a thrill. It is a million times better than immunity! Suede LOVES that!!!" [NY Mag]
• Polo takes Rugby online. [WWD]
• The new crop of Gap ads — featuring the daughter of French Vogue editirice Carine Roitfeld, sont arives! [Fashionista]
• David "Mulder" Duchovny is, for some reason, part of sportswear company Johnston and Murphy's push to be more relevant. "The ads show Duchovny, with a pensive look on his face, wearing Johnston & Murphy sportswear and shoes and, in some creative, accompanied by accessories such as a briefcase and other leather goods. Text reads: "Johnston, Murphy & Duchovny."" [BrandWeek]
• Defying the market, Avon profits jump. [New York Times]
• Bloomingdales to open SpaceNK boutiques within stores. [WWD]
• DKNY collabs with Chandon on sparkling wine. [VogueUK]
• Kinda thought it was still summer, but fashion says No! How to wear 'transitional' clothes. [ElleUK]

Keegan Singh, stylist:

Every show I've been styling this season has had all ethnicities represented. I work with a designer to help them achieve an overall modern look. To get a modern look, you need to represent a diverse group of people. You can't seem modern if you're only showing how one group of people look.

I just like the look of having a diverse group of girls. I shouldn't say this, but I actually lean towards darker girls versus all those washed-out pale girls. I just don't look how all those pale, blonde girls look. I totally shouldn't say that! But, I don't know if there's anything the industry as a whole can do about diversity. As a designer, it's all about what your vision is of who your woman is. How do we make a standard for who you imagine your customer to be?

You make clothes for anyone who would happen to like you taste: That's what fashion is. And guess what? That's not all white women. Not just white women like clothes — I don't know why the industry hasn't realized that yet.

I don't cast models for who they are, but for how they fit a certain image I am trying to create. The image I have of who my customer is...I'm always thoughtful about making sure there's a broad range of girls in the show — it's nice to have a range of looks. But really, I don't think the problem is with us. We are not not casting models of different races. The problem us there aren't enough working ethnic models...There aren't enough minority girls to go around, so they're only walking in a few shows. That's just how it is.

Of 103 runway shows, there were 2,278 chances to feature a model on the runway. Of these, women of color (meaning black, Asian or noticeably non-white Hispanic) were used 298 times. An Asian model was used 124 times, a black model was used 112 times, and a Hispanic model was used 62 times.

In other words, the runways were 88% white or European. (According to the census, the U.S. is 73.9% white; that's a non-white population of almost 30%. New York City is 37% non-Hispanic white; 28% black; 27% Hispanic of any race and 10% Asian. )

Of the women of color, the majority were Asian.
41% Asian; 38% black; 21% Latina.

Black models were used a mere 5% of the time.

Because we counted instances of black models and not the models themselves, this number does not mean that 5% of the models were black. Chanel Iman, Jourdan Dunn, Atong and Samira walked in multiple shows.

Here are examples of castings for a few of the top shows:

Erin Fetherston
Chanel Iman, black
Daul Kim, Asian
Han Jin, Asian
Hye Park, Asian
Total models of color: 4
Total white models: 23
Total models: 27

DKNY
Jourdan Dunn, black
Daniela Borges, Brazilian*
Total models of color: 2
Total white models: 21
Total number of models: 23

Diane Von Furstenberg
Liya Kebede, black
Samira, black
Du Juan, Asian
Atong, black
Maria, Latina
Joan Smalls, black
Georgie, black
Lee, Asian
Alek Wek, black
Emma Pei, Asian
Camila Finn, Brazilian*
Bruna Tenorio, Brazilian*
Total models of color: 12
Total white models: 31
Total number of models: 43

Calvin Klein
Liya Kebede, black
Total models of color: 1
Total white models: 20
Total number of models: 21

Donna Karan
Chanel Iman, black
Total models of color: 1
Total white models: 22
Total number of models: 23

Jill Stuart
Total models of color: 0
Total white models: 20
Total number of models: 20

Jovovich-Hawk
Total models of color: 0
Total white models: 3
Total models: 3

Luca Luca
Atong, black
Total models of color: 1
Total white models: 19
Total models: 20

Tracy Reese
Sasha Gaye-Hunt, black
Dahlia, black
Hollis Wakeema, black
Sonny, Asian
Mo Wandan, Asian
Lily, black
Britnee Nicol, black
Cecilia Mendez, Argentine*
Total models of color: 8
Total white: 15
Total: 23

Zac Posen
Du Juan, Asian
Liya Kebede, black
Jourdan Dunn, black
Chanel Iman, black
Han Jin, Asian
Bruna Tenorio, Brazilian*
Total models of color: 6
Total white: 40
Total: 46

According to the Daily News, Michelle Smith, the designer behind Milly, blamed the modeling agencies for the lack of black models. "They're not giving us any people to choose from," she said. Funny how Zac Posen, Diane von Furstenberg and Tracy Reese didn't seem to have a problem!

Jourdan Dunn, who is British, is gearing up for London Fashion Week, and, reports This Is London, she's worried about the lack of diversity on those runways as well, saying: "London's not a white city so why should our catwalks be so white? I go to castings and see several black and Asian girls, then I get to the show and look around and there's just me and maybe one other coloured face. They just don't get picked."

*Clearly, many Brazilian and Argentine models are of European heritage; we tried to include the ones who offer a different look than the pale, Eastern-European model dominating the scene right now, like dark-eyed, dark haired Bruna, who is of indigenous Brazilian descent.

Earlier: In The Wake Of The Summits...
Modeling Matriarch Continues To Demand Diversity On The Runways

• Locked up and therefore unusable
  
• occupying valuable parking spaces that might otherwise be used by actual bicyclists
  
• and/or chained illegally to trees
  
• shamelessly/tastelessly aping the "Ghost Bike" phenomenon whereby bicyclists killed in the line of carbon footprint reduction are memorialized with decorative bikes chained near the intersections at which they died.

The reader writes:

well when i cut the lock at prince and west broadway this old lady looked incredibly frightened. she sort of froze and her jaw was hanging open. i think she thought i was going to mug her. then i headed over to prince and broadway to free the bike in front of dean and deluca. while i was setting up the bolt cutters an old couple walked by. it was saturday afternoon and they were out shopping. the man said: I hope that's your bike. i said: it's not mine, it's donna karen's. and i'm not taking it. i'm just taking off the lock. at this point they looked perplexed. i said, it's like graffiti, trash. they leave this stuff all over the city. and expect somebody else to come clean it up! well, that's what i'm doing. and the woman said: 'ah, yes.' the couple nodded with understanding and approval. by this point 20 seconds had passed and i was still struggling with the bolt cutters and the chain the woman said: i think we'd better get out of here.

Happy fash week, Donna!

It's A Bike! It's A Message! No, It's An Ad [Portfolio]
The Orange Bike DKNY.com Marketing Scheme Thwarted In East Village [Flickr]
Five Things We Liked Tuesday [New York Mag]
DKNY Orange Bike In Trash [NYC Bike Polo]

• The facts speak for themselves: Heidi Klum is designing a capsule collection for Jordache, for which she has been modeling over the past year. Think she'll offer hair extensions to cover nipples as well? [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Kathy Hilton just released her own perfume. It's called "My Secret." We don't really want to think about what Kathy Hilton's secret might smell like. [BellaSugar]
  
• Gloria Steinem would not approve: Georgina Chapman, Marchesa designer and wife of Halston co-owner Harvey Weinstein, was named "Georgina Weinstein" on her front row seat at Halston yesterday. Only, as Chapman herself put it, "I didn't change my name, they did it for me." [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Jimmy Choo's CEO Tamara Mellon thinks that boyfriend Christian Slater should take a more active, or acting, role in fashion. Mellon says Slater would be "perfect" to play Halston in any upcoming biopic on the designer. [WWD, 1st item]

• One last Halston item! Rachel Zoe, who sits on the label's creative advisory team, wasn't at yesterday's debut show. A rep for the label was quick to issue a statement that Zoe has not been fired. Um, the lady doth protest too much? [WWD, 2nd item]
• Does the fashion industry hate the Bush Administration? Laura Bush is having a luncheon next week for all the designers who participated in this year's The Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection but Nicole Miler, Donna Karan, Carmen Marc Valvo, Tracy Reese, and Marchesa designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig have all said that they won't be able to attend. [WWD, 3rd item]
• Is anyone else depressed that Naomi Campbell and Andre Leon Talley collaborated to star and style in a SoBe "Thrillicious" commercial? [Fashion Week Daily]
• Burberry faux-fur parkas actually use dog fur. Fun! [UPI]
• Charges have been dropped against the manager of the Abercrombie & Fitch store in Virginia Beach, who was scapegoated by a cop whose delicate sensibilities were offended by A&F ads. [MSNBC]
• The latest item up for sale under Bono's (Product) RED line: The Mulberry Roxanne bag, done in sweatshirt material (red, naturally), for the Gap. [Sassybella]
• Count Fergie in as the latest face of MAC Viva Glam lipstick. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Brittany Murphy on Mr. and Mrs. Max Azria: "They're a very nice family, with great morals, very grounded. Plus, they'll even invite you over for Shabbat dinner. Who would turn that down?" [WWD, 4th item]
• Model Caroline Trentini has declared that she will be donating a percentage of her earnings from New York fashion shows to the Center of Support of Underprivileged Children with Cancer in her native Brazil. [WWD, 5th item]
• Is model/First Lady of France Carla Bruni pregnant with a son? [Vogue UK]
• Just what the world needed: Chocolate Armani Easter eggs. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Avon profits have dropped by 30%. There is no time for beauty in a recession. [Breitbart]

(Click on any image in galleries to begin the show)
BCBG:



Nicole Miller:



Erin Fetherston:



Baby Phat:



Abaete:



Alexandre Herchkovitch:



Sass & Bide:



Rock & Republic:



Herve Leger:



DKNY:



Tracy Reese:



Diane Von Furstenberg:



Miss Sixty:

• Victoria Beckham is depicted buck-nekkid on a Marc Jacobs T-shirt that supposedly celebrates the prevention of melanoma. But like, Posh is not wearing any clothes and neither Marc nor Posh are exactly a poster children for the tanning bed avoidance movement, so, again, mixed messages! [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Marc Jacobs to world: "Some people think I've lost my mind. But I feel good. I feel very strong....In the past, I've been very quiet. Now I'm just being very honest. I don't know if people are ready for that. I've learned over the years to first please myself because you can't please everyone." [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Karl Lagerfeld on his favorite memory of Valentino: "Let's just say it involved more than a red dress." Yikes! [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Naomi Campbell's former assistant committed suicide over the weekend. We won't make a joke, even an obvious one. [Sunday Mirror]

• Diane von Furstenberg on Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis: "Graphic novel? Is that the way you call them? I didn't know that! I've read a few; I read Maus, and then I read this one. I was going to say comic book. I'm glad you taught me that! I thought it was provocative and free, everything I love about women!" [Fashion Week Daily]
• Natalia Vodianova has announced that the Valentino couture show last week marked the beginning not only of Valentino's retirement, but hers as well. BTW, Vodianova is 25. [Page Six]
• No runway show for Heatherette this season?! Sobs! [Gatecrasher]
• DKNY is partnering with the NYC Dept. of Transportation to set up bike borrowing stations throughout NYC during fashion week. The people who ride them in lieu of taxis will get a fuckload of fawning press in exchange for reducing approx .000007% of the Fashion Week carbon footprint. [WWD, 5th item]
• Liz Claiborne Chief Marketing Officer Gail Onorato is moving to Ralph Lauren to be president of womenswear its their Chaps line. As if you could tell the difference between Chaps and Claiborne before. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Giorgio Armani, man of the people: "Today, people want a designer who is thought to be a person of taste and genius and give them pointers on everything - from what to wear, to choosing something for the home, to their choice of holiday destination." [Vogue UK]
• English bad boy designer Christopher Kane on his upcoming Fall 2008 collection: "Think Big Bird - but without the feathers." We presume this means yellow? Daring. [Vogue UK]
• We really do love Agent Provocateur ads. [Chic Report]
• Sorry, but Mischa Barton just looks desperate in the Spring 2008 Iceberg ad campaign. [Sassybella]
• Krazy Karl has an eyewear line! [Sassybella]

• Alina Shriver, who is part of the whole Shriver-Kennedy clan, is getting in on the whole rich socialite starting a fashion label thing. We hope it evades the Kennedy "curse"! [NYPost]
  
• He speaks! Notoriously hermetic, recently-ousted Dior Homme designer Hedi Slimane will be interviewed in French newspaper Le Monde this weekend. We're suddenly glad we didn't take a more useful language in school! [WWD, last item]
  
• Actress and ridiculous person Nicole Kidman makes her modeling debut today at London Fashion Week, albeit via video like Princess Leia because she's a ghost or something, for label Antoni & Alison. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• The super-exclusive fete for the opening of the new Barneys New York outpost in San Francisco was hosted by Danielle Steele. Which is awesome. [Fashion Week Daily]

• Of the new Lanvin store in Paris, one of those "modern" raw and unfinished warehouse-y kinda spaces, designer Alber Elbaz says, ""It was not at all about making a beautiful boutique; it was about making a boutique that makes the clothes more beautiful." Wait a second - how hard is it to make a $8000 skirt look beautiful? [WWD, sub req'd]
• Yves Saint Laurent designer Stefano Pilati was approached about the design gig at Valentino, but turned it down 'cause he's all super loyal like that. That, and he just talked his way into a multi-year contract with YSL. [Vogue UK]
• Petanque, some weird French game where you hurl balls across a yard, was one of the best things we ever learned about in all those years of French class. And now we can, apparently, buy our very own set of Louis Vuitton petanque balls, retailing for approximately $1813, which is even more retarded sounding than the game itself. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Cathy Horyn has stopped talking about Marc Jacobs, started drinking heavily in London bars. [NYT]
• Andre Agassi is suing Target. [The Budget Fashionista]