• In a move that smacks of Chanel-Audrey-Jean-Pierre, Dior announced it's making a 6 1/2 minute online perfume ad with Marion Cotillard and Olivier Dahan, who of course directed Cotillard in La Vie En Rose. [WWD]

• Richard Avedon's retrospective at the International Center of Photography, opening tomorrow, is the largest show of his fashion work yet mounted. Cathy Horyn spoke to curators Carole Squiers and Vince Aletti, plus friends like the New Yorker's Adam Gopnik, about the legendary lensman and his manifest influence on contemporary fashion photography. [NY Times]
• Alexa Chung, the British former model who recently moved stateside to present a new show for MTV, endears perhaps most of all by not pretending her job is difficult. "Presenting isn't hard. You're basically reading cards. I mean, how fucking difficult is that?" And then by sharing these words about the television industry: "I think the mistake a lot of TV channels make is that they assume kids are dumb when they're not. Middle-aged fat men [shouldn't] tell young people [what] to watch when they have no idea." [WWD]
• Aldo, the normally good relatively cheap shoe line, wants us to wear horrendous teal 'n' bronze 'n' snakeskin 'n' studs gladiator sandals this summer. [LA Times]
• Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's fashion line, Elizabeth and James, gave People the exclusive on the release of their fall '09 lookbook. This marks a new uppermost notch on the continual rise of lookbooks into campaign territory. [People]
• Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and her husband are reportedly considering moving into the Paris apartment formerly owned by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. [Daily Mail]
• The Agyness Deyn on Twitter is, says BFF Henry Holland, an imposter. "THIS IS FAKE PEOPLE!!!" typed the designer. "AGGY DOES KNOW HOW TO OPERATE A COMPUTER AND MOST CERTAINLY DOES NOT EAT BREAKFAST!" [Grazia]
• C. Scott Hemphill and Jeannie Suk, law professors at Columbia and Harvard, respectively, give a good summary of the current status of U.S. copyright law in relation to clothing — which is that it offers designers not a whit of protection from knock-off artistes — and why it would be a good idea to change it. [XX]
• In related news: Trovata's case against Forever 21, which it accuses of copying six of its designs, has begun at a federal court in California. [WWD]
• Urban Outfitters is rolling out two new designer diffusion lines for summer: both Burberry and fellow British brand Pistol Panties are going to be selling bikinis at the American chain this summer. [Telegraph]
• Urban Outfitters' Philadelphia-based parent company just announced very disappointing earnings for the first quarter of this year. Same-store sales across the whole company dropped by 9.6%, and profits fell 28%, to $30.8 million. Free People was the biggest-losing brand, with sales at its stores slipping by 23%. Anthropologie's sales were down by 13%, and Urban Outfitters by 6%. The CEO, Glenn Senk, says his company is "well-positioned to show improvement over the next several quarters," in what is surely the understatement of the year. [The Street]
• Yesterday's flurry of rumors about the future of i-D magazine — Derek Blasberg Twittered from the Chanel resort show in Venice that the fashion monthly might have closed — the publishers have clarified that i-D will be bi-monthly as of this September. The current April issue will be on newsstands until then; the magazine will run more frequent online content instead. [Fashionologie]
• Another not-new piece of menswear news: Designers using foam batting, instead of perhaps down, as lofty insulation within garments. You know, because foam has structure. [WSJ]
• According to sources, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy is to buy an almost 50% stake in the eco-conscious fashion line Edun, owned by Bono and wife Ali Hewson. Edun was founded in 2005 and manufactures its organic cotton goods in the third world, while paying workers fair wages. A cash infusion from LVMH would allow it to ramp up its advertising and exponentially expand its reach. [WSJ]
• Philip Lim, whose clothes — though still expensive — hit a price point well below that of many of his designer competitors, is anticipating a 15% growth in sales this year. Accordingly, he's planning to add three new lines to his label: swimwear, footwear, and lingerie. The first, his swim collection, will launch this summer, with three styles, two one-pieces and one bikini, priced at $175 each. Lingerie, for $65-$125, will be available at his Manhattan boutique from May 20. Footwear, at $290-$675, will hit stores this fall. And don't expect 6" heels with fiddly feathered doo-dads that might last twenty steps in their original condition. "Everyone's making crazy shoes," said Lim, "so we were like, ‘Let's do working shoes, but sophisticated and beautiful.'" [WWD]
• Maidenform's first quarter earnings declined by 0.8%. Although the brand experienced higher sales, its margins were hurt by aggressive discounting to move old stock. [WSJ]
• Kohl's profit for the quarter just ended fell slightly on last year, to $137 million, but still beat analysts' expectations. Sales rose during the same period by 0.4%. [Reuters]
• Hartmarx wants another six months to file for reorganization in bankruptcy court. [WWD]

• Cindy Crawford hasn't been back in the public eye for naught as of late — turns out she's launching a homewares line with J.C. Penney, which will be in stores nationwide this September.

Cindy's tablewares, window treatments, and bedding will be "moderately priced." Don't call her cheap, please. [WSJ]

• Men's boutiques are learning the simplest way to make a dude buy clothes: liquor him up. One, in the West Village, offers five different kinds of scotch! Ladies, let's not stand for this discrimination. [WSJ]
• I cannot improve, nor make sense of, this anecdote about Hermès announcing its marketing theme for the year, "Beautiful Escape." The French luxury brand had editors assemble at a wholesale food market outside Paris at 5 a.m., and then, "Wearing white smocks, the fashion pack was eerily silent filing through the giant meat locker — where a young woman in a tuxedo tinkled a gleaming black grand piano — but woke up in the fragrant cheese hall when a mouse-headed waiter glided towards them on Rollerblades offering a tray of cubed cantal. The tour ended with gourmet samplings - from oysters to crepe suzette — while Hermès' artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas led a crew of cyclists through the dining hall, capping off a quirky morning." [WWD]
• Elizabeth and James, the Olsen twins' second-highest-end line (after their abominably priced The Row) is doing just great. [NYDN]
• Roberto Cavalli is still toying with th idea of selling part of his company. The unpredictable designer met with Italian private-equity group Clessidra SGR SpA on Tuesday, apparently to discuss selling a 20% stake in the Cavalli empire, but there's no news on the deal because Mr. Leopard Print Sparkle Cleavage Lamé knows he won't get as much for his business right now as he would when the economy improves. Interestingly, Cavalli said he will keep working with Ittierre SpA, the company that is the sole contracted licensee for the Just Cavalli line until 2010, despite Ittierre's bankruptcy. When Ittierre went bust, it delivered Just Cavalli's fall line late and poorly constructed, forcing Cavalli to cancel the younger line's runway show just days ahead. At the time, Cavalli ranted angrily for minutes in a variety of languages to a roomful of journalists about his disappointment with Ittierre, before bursting into tears. But he can't afford, or doesn't want to afford, to break the contract. [WWD]
• Valentino says Michelle Obama will be the next Jackie O. Because that hasn't occurred to anyone else ever before. [E! Online]
• James Perse is getting tough on the use and return of editorial samples. Normally, when magazines use clothing and accessories for a shoot, these items are only borrowed — and generally not from off the sales floor, either, they're specially made samples that fashion houses keep just for sending out to magazine editors. (That's how come me and my ilk are allowed to punch stillettoes through skirts, smear lipstick on collars, and sweat through the hottest days of the year into boiled-wool coats — the garments are just going to be recycled into further editorial use.) Ordinarily, the labels are only too happy for their samples to see such abuse, because a credit in a magazine editorial is free advertising. Not so L.A. t-shirt maker James Perse! The label is going to start charging editors 90% of retail value for the use of their samples — part of the cost will be refunded if the samples are returned within 10 days of being sent out, but returns will only be processed through their L.A. headquarters, not any of their local showrooms worldwide. The first step to getting a James Perse item in your next editorial, stylists, isn't a call to the label's PR rep, but the filling out of a formal credit application. [WWD]
• Bruno movie trailer! [Mediaweek]
• Retail employment was down again in March. Specialty stores cut 6,200 jobs, and department stores eliminated 300 nationwide. [WWD]

• People love Posh's dresses. Net-a-porter.com sold out in one day, and Posh herself stopped by Neiman Marcus to instruct sales associates and top customers in the ways of the frock. Thirty pieces were sold. [WWD]

• Roberto Cavalli yesterday said that he will show Just Cavalli in Milan — albeit not on the runway. Following the bankruptcy of the diffusion line's primary licensee, Itierre, Just Cavalli's future was in doubt, despite the fact that the expanding chain has stores scheduled to open this year. But the designer says that he will show Just Cavalli to a select group of editors at showroom appointments tomorrow, before making an announcement about the future of the brand. Surely there must be a manufacturer somewhere willing to produce the brand. [FWD]
• The gist of this story is: Michelle Obama. Still wearing clothes. There, I saved you three minutes. [WWD]
• Saks is troubled. After holding 75% off sales all last November and December — a situation the company CEO says "you'll probably never see again" — it still had to lay off workers in the new year. And in leading the deep-discounting department store pack last winter, Saks achieved the triple whammy of pissing off its vendors — who didn't appreciate their wares getting the TJ Maxx treatment from a trusted name — losing $98.75 million of company money in three months, and spawning endless trend stories about whether consumers will ever be duped into paying $700 for a pair of pumps again (the magic eight ball says: not any time soon). Well, the CEO held an investor conference call and said some reassuring things that made the share price jump almost 13%; then the CFO happened to mention that, worst case scenario, the company does own some very nice real estate. Which it could sell. Presumably not at 75% off. [NY Times]
• Halle Berry and Jenna Jameson launched namesake perfumes in the same week. Weird. [Beauty Counter]
• In other news of celebrities who want a piece of the retail maelstrom, there's a certain pink-haired Canadian pop-punk sprite who would like to sell you her pajamas. They're black and neon all over, and have some weird-looking lace insertion-looking parts to the top. Not that anyone would dare call her complicated. [The Life Files]
• Scarlett Johanson, the face of D&G makeup, is a safe bet at the Dolce & Gabbana show in Milan on Monday. [WWD]
• Adam Lippes' Mango diffusion line goes on sale March 1. The women's clothes seem to exhibit a nice sense of proportion, and there are some potentially cool black strappy not-too-gladiator-looking sandals. But there are men's wear looks styled with notched-lapel jackets and — wait for it — dress shorts. I just don't know how to feel about that. [Racked]
• Not battening down the hatches are the Olsen twins, whose contemporary Elizabeth and James line is moving into men's wear. Their other label, The Row, has a men's wear division that has proved very popular very quickly. [WWD]
• Speaking of the Olsens, their Elizabeth and James shoes are about to launch, and will go on sale through Steve Madden stores. Although there is no pricing information as of yet, they'll be significantly more expensive than Steve Madden's other wares. [FabSugar]
• Moise de la Renta, who I am pretty sure does not have a degree in communications, does have a fashion line. MDLR, announced last summer, is finally here. [Style.com]
• Should you ever want to imitate the shiny corpse lip some of the models wore at Marc Jacobs, key makeup artist for the show François Nars explains how. It involves putting eyeshadow on your lips. [NY Times]
• True Religion posted double-digit sales and earnings increases for all of 08 — and the fourth quarter. [WWD]
• Old Navy is chasing the "quirky" 25-35-year-old customer. Its new campaign features a flier that looks like a mock celebrity magazine, and they would like to remind everyone they sell clothes for $5 and $10. [AP]
• Fourth quarter profit for the Limited brands fell 96% on last year. At least they still had a fourth quarter profit! [AP]
• The sound of Karl Lagerfeld's taste dying is a low, battery-powered hum. Which reaches a top speed of 12 mph! The Chanel Segway, a thing you can buy, is here. [The Cut]

L to R: The stripes are like a bad Missoni, only this isn't even knit — it's just a tee; unlike this season's designers on Project Runway, at least the girls understand how to make pants? And look! They included kiddie clothes in the line too!
L to R: Oh God, this one looks straight out of the Lauren Conrad Collection; High-waisted skinny trousers are frequently unfortunate; You could just go get the tank at American Apparel and buy a Bedazzler and make the skirt yourself.
L to R: Guaranteed to look bad on most bodies; guaranteed to look trashy; okay, this dress is actually pretty nice, if you're into the Laurel Canyon look.
L to R: Is this look not dead yet?; swirls, sequins, dizziness; the new power suit?
L to R: A great looking dress if you're a tall, skinny girl with no boobs; again with the stripes?; a good blazer, yes, but can its equivalent be found at Forever21?
L to R: To both of these looks I say: How old are we? Seriously?

• Model Agyness Deyn and designer Henry Holland went as Mr. and Mrs. Beetlejuice for Halloween. They did their own makeup. [Vogue UK]
  
• Jennifer Hudson on Vogue editor-at-large/hideous capelet advocate Andre Leon Talley: "I was like André, you don't have a cell phone? André, you don't e-mail? He's like, 'I don't e-mail honey, I don't do that,' I was like, 'No, no, no, we have to get that together." [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Jacob "Jacob the Jeweler" Arabov has pleaded guilty to the charges of falsifying records and lying to a federal agent during a drug investigation. We hope all that ice can buy a man a carton of cigarettes in the big house. [WWD, sub req'd]

• Liz Claiborne is thisclose to selling off 4 of its final 9 brands. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Nina Ricci designer/wunderkind Olivier Theyskens is designing socialite Lauren Davis' wedding dress. Says Davis of the design, "[I]t's very bridal." Um. [Fashion Week Daily]
• T-shirt-for-a-cause alert! Marni shirts (ranging in price from $67 to $135) benefiting NGO Mani Tese, which helps underprivileged kids in developing countries. The shirts are portraits of six of the children who would benefit from this funding. Hmm. [Fashion Week Daily]
• What is model Iekeliene Stange's biggest secret in life? "I'm obsessed with roller-skating and having pancake parties!" Ah, models. [Fashion Week Daily]
• We confess: We would buy any magazine with Cate Blanchett on the cover. [Sassybella]

• Poor Valentino! After watching various private equity firms duke it out for control of the fashion house he founded; telling the media over and over again that he is totally 100% absolutely not retiring; announcing his retirement; and then naming his successor, the guy finally manages to score the lifetime achievement award at the Fashion Rocks event in London last week... only to lose the statuette. (And then find it!) [I wonder if he prayed to St. Anthony, the patron saint of ignoring me. -Moe] [NY Post]
  
• LOLNaomi! Mlle. Campbell is to lecture to students at the Trinity College Philosophical Society in Dublin. Perhaps she will explain the finer points of resorting to physical violence to the world's oldest debate society? [Sassybella]
  
• Requisite retarded Karl Lagerfeld design du jour: a Chanel bicycle, complete with Chanel's signature quilting. [Vogue UK]

• Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell on designer Elie Tahari: "I have recently been exposed to Elie Tahari. His stuff is really classic, but at the same time he has gotten hipper." Spoken like a fashion critic! [WWD, 1st item]
• Model Watch update! Jessica Stam, Coco Rochas, and Kasia Struss will co-star in the Dior spring 2008 campaign together, combining the power of their incredibly well-remunerated faces to try and justify the cost of even more expensive shit. [WWD, 1st item]
• We are sorry to inform you that Dallas Fashion Week has been canceled. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Shoe designer Christian Louboutin, who would actually know what he's talking about, on Mary Kate & Ashley's new clothing line: "When I started my line, I did it little by little. But [Elizabeth and James is] very, very well-managed. More than anything else, it's very good." Go figure. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Kate Bosworth is the new face of Coach in China. [Fashion Week Daily]

• New York Fashion Week and the showing of the Spring/Summer 2008 Ready-to-Wear collections start today. Expect us to be increasingly tired and irritable as the week goes on. Unless we see Vogue's Anna Wintour, in which case we will perk up momentarily, grab our BlackBerrys, and then go back to being tired and irritable. [Vogue UK]
  
• Models who were dancers say that their dance backgrounds give them a leg up in the industry because they are already well-versed in performance. We say that models who were dancers have a leg up in the industry because they've had years of practice starving themselves. [NYT]
  
• Those close to Oscar de la Renta say that "None of the girls who just show up to places to get their pictures taken were invited. Oscar thinks they are tacky and is only interested in the women who actually support his work and, you know, buy the clothes." [NY Post]
  
• Marc Jacobs, however, seems to totally dig those kind of girls, and has invited Lauren Conrad to participate in his show. [NY Post]

• Donna Karan apparently likes her men young and strapping. How the hell is Donna Karan dating a male model and we can't even get a date? [NY Daily News]
• Valentino: Still retiring. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Guess's net income sky rockets by 81.5% percent this quarter. Which can only mean one thing: The spirit of Anna Nicole Smith lives on. [WWD, sub req'd]
• JA Apparel Group owns the Joseph Abboud trademark. Designer Joseph Abboud does not. The latter is now being sued by the former for copyright infringement. And we are very, very confused. [WSJ]
• Even before we step foot in the tents today, we feel fully confident in saying this pic of an Olsen-designed furry coat (for their Elizabeth and James line) is the most terrifying fashion we'll see all day. [FabSugar]

[CFDA Awards, New York, NY; June 4. Images via Getty]

• The Olsen twins are launching a new clothing line, not to be confused with their other two clothing lines. Called Elizabeth and James and named after the other two Olsen siblings, it's a joint venture with the parent company of Seven For All Mankind jeans with a fascinating theme: The "clash between masculinity and femininity." Is that like when you've been starving yourself so long you don't have to buy tampons anymore? [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• A movie is being made about the life of designer and debauched punk starfucker Vivienne Westwood, and we would looove to see Alan Cumming in the role of Sex Pistol/Westwood-ex Malcolm McLaren. [Vogue UK]
  
• You thought Nike couldn't get any more mileage (HAH!) out of reissuing new colors of its retro shoes? The latest shades are that attractive shade of old-PVC yellow, dirty maroon, and weatherbeaten green. Fuck them for looking kind of awesome. [NYTimes]
  
• The Wall Street Journal's Teri Agins attempts to explain why Polo is suddenly minting so much money. One theory: Douchebags! Seriously though, can we PLEASE BAN THE WORD "ASPIRATIONAL"? [WSJ, sub req'd]

• Armani is opening a 47,000-square foot megastore in Manhattan, which is apparently just the first phase of some Five Year Plan to boost Italian manufacturing. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Nordstrom is also opening here, finally, and though we'd rather get another Trader Joe's we can't hate that service! [WWD, sub req'd]
• Allen Edmonds shoes are superior to other men's shoes because they don't have a metal shank. We have no idea what a "shank" is but the word makes us giggle each time we say it. Blame Cosmo or something. [WSJ]
• Your longtime fantasies of having a nervous breakdown while wearing a party dress could have been realized if you 1) are a size 0 and 2) had 200 grand to burn yesterday, when Christie's auctioned-off the pink dress worn by Audrey Hepburn when she tears down the house upon learning of her brother's death in Breakfast at Tiffany's. The buyer was "private" which we did not need Jude Law in the movie 'Closer' to tell us also means "gay." [Yahoo News]